Reckless Road
by Halt's Apprentice
Summary: Will and Gilan go to LA to make a Rock Band. Can they make a Rock Band that will take them from rags to riches, or will they fall down as another band that could've been? NOTE: Set in our time period.
1. Chapter 1

**All right, so this is my newest installment. It is set in our time period. It was inspired by: my dream, Wayne's World, and God knows where else...**

**So, basically, Will lives in Lafayette Indiana with his childhood friend Gilan. They both know that they can't hit the big time with music in their small town. Will currently lives with his parents but, oh boy, I feel that's about to change...**

**

* * *

**Will was an average seventeen year old. He hung out with friends, he listened to music, he enjoyed spending time with people, but he pondered on what was to happen when he got home from school.**  
**

His father didn't like what he liked. His father was a religious psycho that criticized his music on a daily bases. His father was abusive. His father was just the plain opposite of Will.

Will was told by his father this morning that if he hadn't gotten a haircut after school he'd be kicked out of the house. Will wondered how that would go... **(1)**

"Hey Will. I got my stuff ready. I'll wait for you outside your window. Best of luck." Will's next door neighbor and best friend Gilan said as saw him before he walked into his house.

"Hey man. You too." Will replied.

_Man... This is not gonna be pretty..._ Will thought as he walked up his steps and opened the door.

He saw his father right away, and then his mother.

His mother looked in fear as she saw his hair. Halt said he would kick Will out. And he _meant_ it. 

"No haircut I see." Halt examined as he walked up to Will.

Will immediately took a defensive position.

"I'll get my things. I already packed this morning." Will said walking cautiously around Halt.

"Leaving your mother and I? Why not just cut your hair? It's easier than being thrown out on your ass!" Halt yelled as he punched Will's back.

"Halt! Stop it!" Pauline yelled as she pulled him back, allowing Will to run to his room in immense pain.

As Will entered he locked his door and groaned. Being hit by Halt always hurt, but this was a new level of pain. He looked out his window and sure enough, Gilan was there.

Will passed down his Gibson Les Paul that was in its case to him. And as he was passing his bag of clothes down he heard a huge slam on the door.

"Why don't you just come out here and talk Will?" His father said in a menacing voice.

"How stupid do you think I am?" Will replied sarcastically.

"You know that smart mouth is going to get you in trouble one day!" Halt said as he slammed the door again.

"Will hurry the hell up before he breaks the door down again!" Gilan whispered fiercely.

Will was about to jump through the window but he heard his mother being slapped and yelled at.

Will unlocked and opened the door as he walked up to his father who was beating down his mother.

"What, gained some courage?" Halt said tauntingly as he stood over Pauline.

Will punched him in the jaw and watched happily as Halt slammed into the wall, followed by him falling backwards.

Halt got up immediately and tackled Will down. Punching Will in the face and chest. And then he started to choke Will.

Gilan busted through the front door with his Glock and aimed it at Halt.

"Get off Will!" He yelled. Aiming at Halt's side.

Halt slowly got off Will and smirked at Gilan.

"What, going to shoot me to save your little friend?" Halt asked as he slowly walked forward. Making Gilan back up towards the door.

"Don't move!" Gilan yelled. Seeing Will get up and grabbing a bottle of beer.

"Now now, shooting me wouldn't be ni-" He was stopped in the middle of his sentence as Will hit him and knocked him out.

Will rushed to his mother who was on the floor.

"Mom! Mom wake up!" Will panicked. But it didn't work.

"I'll call 911." Gilan said as he went to the house phone.

Will checked her pulse but didn't feel anything. He then tried to listen to her heartbeat, once again, nothing.

"No..." Will said quietly as the tears started to fall.

* * *

"A rib punctured her lung. She bled internally. I'm sorry..." The doctor told Will as he went out of the room where he attempted to save Will's mother.

Will stood there in disbelief. His mother was dead. A painful death at that. And it was _his_ fault.

Gilan held his shoulder with his right hand. He wasn't good with words. But his actions expressed his feelings.

_If only I'd cut my stupid hair..._

"You can go see her if you like." The doctor told Will. He then began to walk away to tend to another patient.

"Thank you." Will said as he walked into the emergency room. Gilan waited outside. Figuring Will would rather be alone for this.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Will said painfully.

He bursted into tears as he saw her dead. He knew it was his fault. He could've waited. But no, he had to learn the hard way...

* * *

Will and Gilan were riding down the highway in Gilan's Firebird. They were about to leave the Indiana line and hit Illinois. Will had been quiet the entire trip. He would sometimes move but other than that he just stared out the window.

Gilan decided to cheer Will up by playing an old joke of his. He entered a CD and he smiled as the intro started.

He was glad to see Will finally smile as he realized it was Flirtin' With Disaster by Molly Hatchet. Gilan would often joke that that's what their life would be. Little did he know it would...

_I'm travelin' down the road and I'm flirtin' with disaster._

_I put my pedal to the floor and my life is running faster._

_I'm outta money. Outta luck and it looks like self destruction._

_How much more can we take with all of this corruption?_

_

* * *

_They eventually hit Kansas City and it was Will's turn to drive. That's how they had set it up. Gilan would drive five hours and Will would sleep, and then they would switch.

Will pumped gas into the car at a Kwik Shop. And it wasn't too long before he was back on the road.

* * *

LA, the big city of famous Rock bands, was now in their sight. They'd never seen anything like it. It was amazing to them.

"My cousin lives about one hour away somewhere in this place. We can live there until we find an apartment." Gilan told Will.

"Sounds cool. I can't wait to put an add in the paper." Will replied.

"That reminds me, what are we gonna call ourselves? We've had hours and hours of driving but we haven't had the time to discuss that."

"I don't know. I've never thought about it. We'll have to discuss that once we form the band." Will replied.

"Yeah. It can wait."

* * *

"Hey, thanks for letting us stay here Tom." Gilan greeted as Tom opened the door.

It was surprisingly not dirty like Will expected. It was quite the nice apartment.

"Hey, not to be rude, but I've been driving for eight hours. Can I get some rest?" Will asked.

"Sure! Your room's over there. Just drop your stuff wherever you like in there man." Tom replied.

Will entered his room and was quite happy about the size of it.

_I'm not sure what this guy does, but he's got an apartment I envy._ Will thought.

Will simply laid his things on the floor and hit the bed. He was tired out of his mind.

* * *

**(1) I've had people tell me that was dumb. Well, they're dumb technically, because Axl Rose was kicked out of his house for not cutting his hair. Therefore, if you don't like it, I don't care.  
**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. The next chapter will be about the forming of the band. And the next chapter will have an awesome first concert featuring one of my favorite Motley Crue songs "Girl's Girl's Girl's". :P**

**PLEASE HELP ME WITH THE NAME OF THE BAND! I have no clue what I'll name it. And remember people, CLASSIC ROCK-LIKE NAMES! Nothing weird like "The Canes" or something really stupid.**

**Anyways, review if you like, and please suggest a name.**

**Thank you and long live Rock N' Roll.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to all that reviewed the last chapter. I realized it was lacking in some things. I knew that as I was writing it. But cut me some slack! It was 3:00 AM! :P**

**Anyways, this story is based off Axl Rose's life. Kind of. He had an abusive father. (Halt) His mother didn't do a thing about it. (Pauline) Neither of them died or went to jail like they did in this story but, hey, that's the fun of altering things!**

**And anyways, this will have Wayne's World references. And I think I came up with a band name. If you have a better name and I like it then in later chapters I'll have them change it in a band meeting.**

**By the way, there will be a bit of perverted humor starting from now. I'm writing a story for a Rock Band here people. Not a novel for Priests. So if you don't enjoy it than I'm sorry but, either get by it or just stop reading. It won't be that bad though so, don't think there will be one every paragraph.  
**

**So anyways, I'll now shut up.

* * *

**It was a week after they'd came to Los Angeles. They'd finally found a decent apartment that could fit 5 people, instruments and all. So they were happy they could get off Tom's hands.

They also put an add in the paper four days earlier once they found the apartment and they were eagerly awaiting who would show up.

Will was in the main room playing Sweet Child O' Mine on his Les Paul. Rocking out to the riff.

"You're getting good at your live performance moves." Gilan said as he walked out of his room with his bass. Deciding he'd tag along with Will.

Will stopped playing and smiled at his friend. "Thanks. I've been working hard on them all week. It's harder to play and move at the same time than I'd thought it would be."

"Yeah. We probably should've started on that back in Indiana. A boring performance is a last performance. But, at least we have it covered now." Gilan replied as he put his guitar strap around him and tested his strings.

Will simply nodded while moving his fingers on his strings, not actually playing.

"I think we should work on our first song we'll play live. And work on the moves we'll do." Will said.

"Cool. And what song is that exactly?"

"I was thinking of coming in like a hurricane and playing Girl's Girl's Girl's. What do you think?" Will asked.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get started!" Gilan said enthusiastically.

* * *

A few hours after playing that they got bored and decided they'd walk around the town and take in the sights.

"I hope we don't forget our way again. I didn't bring a phone like last time." Will said with a bit of humor.

"It's not like it was _my fault _Mr. let's go an hour more." Gilan replied sarcastically.

"Oh, whatever. Let's go see a park or something." Will said pushing aside Gilan's joke.

They walked about half an hour more before they actually found a park. It was really big. Gigantic compared to the small parks they were used to.

"Hey Will, I was thinking that for a band name we should... Will?" Gilan asked as he noticed his friend was focused on something else.

He followed Will's and saw a blond girl their age reading a book by a tree.

Gilan touched Will's shoulder and laughed a bit when Will jumped slightly.

"Staring isn't nice you know." He joked with him. "Hey Chia Pet, Why don't you grow a pair and just talk to her?" Gilan asked humorously.

"First of all," Will started as he took his eyes off the apparent beauty. "It's hard not to. Second of all, don't call me Chia Pet. And thirdly, I just might." Will then started walking towards her to show his immature friend he was "man enough".

_Wait, what in the blazes am I going to say to her?_ Will thought.

_This will most likely end with me laughing._ Gilan thought.

Will walked up to her and the girl took her eyes off the book she was reading to see who was walking up to her.

_Though I won't say he's not handsome, he's probably just after my body instead of me..._ She thought to herself.

"Hi." Will said awkwardly.

"Hi." She replied back.

"I, um, wanted to know if you would like to go out sometime?" He asked a tad bit nervous.

She looked at him for a moment and thought to herself.

_I can't simply blow him off out of first time assumptions..._

"Sure." She decided.

Will smiled a bit.

"Um, where would you like to go? I'm new in town you see..." He said awkwardly. Knowing this certainly was _not_ how you pick up a girl.

"How about here on Friday?" She asked.

"Sounds cool. I'll see you around seven if that works." He said. Grinning on the inside on how he'd rub it in Gilan's face.

"That sounds good." She replied, going back to her book.

"Thanks." He said as he finally walked off.

Gilan was smiling at first, but if faded as Will smiled as well.

"You can't possibly tell me that girl," He pointed with meaning, "the girl you're probably 9 leagues behind, accepted?" He asked unbelievably.

Will patted his shoulder, "That's exactly what I'm telling you." As he then started to walk off.

Gilan caught back up with him and just stared in amazement.

"Well, even if she said no, if all the girls here look like that I'm never leaving." Gilan stated.

"It looks like Girl's Girl's Girl's just got a new meaning." Will said. Gilan nodded in agreement.

* * *

Will was playing guitar and Gilan bass guitar when they heard the doorbell ring.

Will opened the door and saw two guys. One with a guitar and the other with nothing.

"Hey, I'm Mick Mars." Mick actually did look like Mick Mars save a few differences.

"And I'm Jason Slade." Jason had black hair and a wiry build. Which is what singers tended to look like.

"We're here to answer your add in the paper for a guitarist and a singer." Mick said.

"Come in please." Gilan said smiling.

* * *

Mick played some guitar while Jason sang. And it was surprisingly Classic Rock and Classic Heavy Metal.

"What are the bands you guys like?" Will asked. If they answered correctly They'd be hired.

"Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Metallica, Skid Row," Will and Gilan were smiling by now. "classic rock bands basically." Mick answered. And Jason nodded agreement.

"You're hired." They both said in unison.

* * *

Will and Gilan talked to them a bit longer and they was _exactly_ the people they wanted. they liked the same type of music and the same sounds.

There was of course differences. But they were the differences they needed. A band that thinks alike entirely is a band that will keep doing the same things over and over again each album.

"Well Mick, Jason, we're excited to start playing with you. We'll help you guys move in tomorrow." Gilan said shaking their hands.

"I don't have much actually. Just my guitar, amp, and a suitcase of clothes." Mick said. Explaining it would only be a 5 minute project.

"I'm the same except I have no guitar." Jason said.

"Awesome. If you like you can move in now." Will offered.

"Thanks but, it would be too weird to just show up and move in. See you guys tomorrow." Mick said as they walked out the door.

"Well, that was easy. Let's just hope everything else goes like that." Gilan said in astonishment.

"Gilan, it's us. The chance these guys went so well only means everything else will go horrible." Will said humorously.

* * *

A day later they'd recruited a drummer named Allan Smith and things were set. They started learning songs, and working out the problems. Things were going surprisingly well from what they expected it to be.

"Alright, so what are we going to name the band?" Mick asked the rest of the guys, sitting on the couch and drinking a beer.

"Well," Will started. "I was thinking Appetite For Destruction. Except we'll put two dots over the O's like Motley Crue did."

"Works for me." Mick said.

* * *

They were playing in the living room when Will saw it was 6:00 o'clock.

"I gotta go get ready for a date. See you guys later." He said as he went into his room.

"She's a total uggo isn't she?" Mick said jokingly.

"You'll be surprised. She's actually really hot." Gilan responded while laughing.

"Chia Pet bags a pretty one huh? Well, I'll believe it when I see it." Mick said getting back to guitar.

* * *

**So that's the chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm not sure what to do for the date. I'm thinking of just making it a mystery if what happens. Who knows? I'll most likely write it. I'm never that mean.**

**Anyways, I hope it was better than last time. There were mistakes. Though 2 out of 3 people wouldn't admit it. :P**

**But I hope the ending wasn't bad like last time. I had problems thinking of an end for it seeing as how it was late at night. **

**Anyway, review if you like.**

**P.S. I forgot to mention why Will's nickname is Chia Pet.**

**His hair is fluffy like Slash's is. And in my mind they look a lot alike so, that's why I made him a Slash character. **

**Anyways, bye.  
**


	3. Get Ready To Rock

**Well, once again thank you to all that read and review. This seems to be the story I'm most consistent with. Probably because I can relate to it more...**

**I would like to say one thing: Would everyone stop updating? Seriously, right after I updated last night 10 minutes later FIVE PEOPLE UPDATED. Seriously, people don't update unless I update. It's ridiculous. :P**

**Anyways, I realize I haven't been very good with details. But see, I'm not a detail guy. The fact I remembered at the last second just before I posted to explain what Slade and Mick looked like was a miracle. And even after that I forgot to explain what Allan Smith looked like. But don't worry, all in due times my readers. All in due time.**

**So this one is going to have Wayne's World references since it's my favorite movie and part of the inspiration for this. So anyways, thank you, and good night! Party on Garth! Party on Wayne! It's Wayne's World! Wayn-I'm going to stop myself now...**

**P.S. The songs I'll have the guys play will have sexual themes occasionally. That's why I set the rating to T.**

**Anyway, enjoy.  
**

**

* * *

**Will walked to the park where he was supposed to meet this girl. He didn't have any special clothes to wear on such an occasion, so he just wore his Guns N' Roses shirt. Hoping this girl wouldn't be thrown off by it.

He saw the tree that he first saw her at and sat down by it. It was a big oak tree that gave a lot of shade to whomever was under it. It was no wonder why she would choose such a tree to go to.

It wasn't long until the girl came in sight. He smiled a bit and got up, walking up to greet her.

"Hell again." He greeted.

"Hello." She said as she smiled.

Will thought she had the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. And he was mesmorized by her by her beautiful gray eyes as well.

"I never got your name." She said.

"Oh, sorry about that. It's Will." He said a bit embarrassed he'd forgotten something so important.

"Mine's Alyss." She replied.

"Alyss. That's a lovely name." He said. Using the basics of wooing a girl.

"Thank you." She replied.

"Well, we can't spend the night standing here can we?" He said trying to move things along.

* * *

The remainder of the date they just walked around talking about their likes and dislikes.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" He asked as he looked around at the people passing by.

"Well, I never really liked modern music." She said. And Will immediately looked at her when he said that. "I like bands like Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Guns N' Roses," she said as she pointed at his shirt. "AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Dio, just classic bands like that." She finished.

_I love this woman..._ Will thought.

"What about you?" She asked. Curious as to his answer.

"Well, all the bands you just stated really." He answered, still in amazement that he would find such a woman during a day and age like this.

"Really? That's cool. What do you want to do when you finish high school?" She asked while motioning Will that she wanted to take a break at a nearby bench.

Will was amiss for a minute.

"Well, I uh... I sorta dropped out of high school back in Indiana." He said a bit nervously. Knowing that if he wasn't careful Alyss would lose interesting in him quickly.

"Oh... I see." Alyss responded awkwardly.

"But I am in a band, you see. I play lead guitar." Will assured her somewhat awkwardly quick.

"Oh, that's cool. Have you played any performances yet?" She asked sort of relieved this guy wasn't going to be a plumber or something.

"Not yet. We're still trying to find a place that will let us play. Do you know any?" He said as he got in a more relaxed state on the bench.

"I do actually. I go to it every Saturday. It's called the Gasworks. It's a really cool place where bands can easily get noticed. Tons of people go to it." She explained getting more interested in the conversation.

"Sounds cool. Give me the address later and I'll hopefully see you there tomorrow night." Will said a bit excited that things were coming together.

"But anyway, what would you like to do when you get out of high school?" He asked trying to make the conversation about her once more.

"Well, I'm not sure actually. I'm trying to decide between being a novelist and an artist." She replied.

"That's cool. I've always liked reading books. And I've always enjoyed paintings. It's a shame I'm horrible at both." He said laughing a bit.

She simply laughed and looked at her phone.

"Well, it's nine-thirty. I have to be going. I really enjoyed tonight though. We should do this again sometime." She said getting up.

"Oh, okay. I really enjoyed tonight as well. But I should walk you home at this time at night." He offered.

"Okay. Thank you." She replied happily.

* * *

They reached her house 10 minutes later and Alyss turned around to look at Will.

"Here's the address to The Gasworks and my number." She said getting ready to go inside.

"Thanks. Here's mine." He said as he started walking backwards a little bit.

Alyss walked to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight." She said.

Will was too shocked to respond smoothly. "G-goodnight." He said. Alyss giggled a bit and walked inside.

"I can get used to this quickly." Will said as he started venturing back to his apartment.

* * *

It was the morning after the date and Will woke up happier than he'd been in a long time.

He started getting off the bed when he realized his guitar was about to fall down. He grabbed it quickly but he stumbled and fell on the floor headfirst.

"Ow..." He said as he just laid there.

Gilan and Mick walked in and started laughing harder than Will thought was possible.

"You idiot!" Gilan said as he kept on laughing.

They eventually calmed down as Will got upright again and grabbed his guitar.

"If you idiots are done laughing we can maybe eat and head to The Gasworks." Will said as he walked out of his room.

"What's The Gasworks?" Gilan asked while he and Mick followed.

"It's a place where bands can play and get noticed." He replied as he walked into the kitchen and starting making himself a bowl of cereal. "We should get there soon though to make sure the owner can give us a spot." He added.

"Well forget breakfast then! Let's go!" Gilan said impatiently.

"Okay Mr. impatient." Will said as he started to put things back.

* * *

They got there and "Walked in uninvited" as Mick put it. Though will put it as breaking in.

They found the owner getting things ready and they talked to him to see if they could.

"There's only 2 other bands playing tonight so another band is much welcomed." He said. "Just be on time and I'll give you an hour and a half to rock your hearts away." He said.

All the band members smiled at that and suddenly got a rush of excitement.

"Thanks a lot Eddie. We'll be here on time and ready." Slade said.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day getting warmed up and playing the songs that they would play for their first gig.

It was six and they had to be their by seven so they loaded their stuff up in Slade's van and hit the road.

They were there 20 minutes early and they gazed in amazement simply at the line outside the place.

They unloaded their things and hauled them to the entrance and saw the crowd.

"There's gotta be 500 people here!" Gilan yelled over the music and noise.

"I know! It's great! We'll just hang here until it's our turn!" Will yelled while looking around for Alyss. He hoped she would be here for his first show. He looked at the second floor that had the pool tables and things like that and he couldn't find her.

_Oh well. She'll probably be here soon._ He thought to himself.

20 minutes later the band that was up there finished and it was they started putting their stuff up on stage.

The owner of the club walked up to the mic and started giving them an introduction.

"This next band is a new band, and they are ready to make a name for themselves. Please welcome, Appetite, For, Destruction!" He yelled as he then ran off the stage.

Will played the first chord of Girl's Girl's Girl's right after, and it was followed by Slade going "Oh yeah. Here we go!" and the crowd cheered. He played it again, and the song then started.

The intro was one of the main reasons they chose the song. The riff excited people and the raw energy from it made people love the song.

"Friday night, need a fight!

"My motorcycle and a switchblade knife!

"Handful of grease in my hair feels right!

But what I need to make me tight are those:

Girl's, Girl's, Girl's." Will sang the chorus since That was how it was done. But it made the crowd go wild.

"Long legs and burgundy lips." Slade sang in between.

"Girl's, Girls, Girl's!" Will sang even louder that time. Making the energy better.

* * *

An hour and a half later they were about to start their last song of the night: Paradise City. Will thought it was appropriate since Slade's voice reminded him of Axl's and he thought it would sound awesome if they did it.

By the end of the song Will, Gilan and Mick were all side by side rocking left and right in unison, and loving how the crowd enjoyed it.

"Thank you! And. Good. Night!" Slade yelled as the song was ending.

Every person in The Gasworks was cheering. Even the bartender and Eddie himself.

The band took their stuff offstage and smiled as they waved and walked off.

Eddie walked towards them with a big smile on his face.

"You guys were _awesome_! In my 10 years of having this place I've never heard a band play like that!" He said as he shook their hands.

"Thanks! It felt really good!" Mick said with a big grin on his face.

"We open up here every Friday and Saturday night. And I would love it if you guys could go both nights!" Eddie said as he walked with them near the door.

"Sounds awesome! We'll go here both days! When do you want us here?" Slade asked.

"Eight to twelve is when we're busiest. I want you guys here from 10 to 12 if that's okay." Eddie proposed.

"Done. Thanks a lot Eddie. We're gonna go put our stuff up and come back to hang out a bit." Mick said.

"Sounds great. Hey, where's your drummer?" Eddie asked curiously.

"Oh, he's probably off doing something by himself. He's not really a part of the band. And I hate to say it, but from what I saw tonight, he's probably not gonna stay here much longer." Slade answered.

"Yeah, I didn't want to say anything about it but, he's your only weak point." Eddie agreed.

"Well, we gotta put this stuff up. Thanks again." Will said as they exited. Will heard the door open again and he looked back to see Alyss.

"Hi. Did you see us play?" Will asked excited to see her.

"Yeah. You guys were amazing!" She said.

"Oh my God! Chia Pet did bag a hot one!" Slade yelled fiercely in Mick's ear.

"Alyss, this is Slade, Mick, and Gilan." Will introduced.

"Nice to meet you." Alyss greeted to everyone.

"You too." Slade said.

"I'd keep my hands off her. Will would kill you if you even tried." Gilan warned Slade.

"You guys aren't leaving are you?" Alyss asked.

"No, we're just going to load our stuff is all. We'll come back in a few minutes." Will answered.

"Okay. See you soon." Alyss said as she walked back inside.

Will walked by the rest of the guys and smacked Slade in the back of the head softly.

"What was that for?" Slade asked in anger.

"Paws off." Will said. Mick and Gilan laughed.

"Told ya." Gilan said.

* * *

The rest of the night they just listened to the music, commented on the style and the moves the members did, played pool, drank, and basically just had a good time. At 12 Will dropped Alyss off at her house and headed home. This was the best night of their lives and they couldn't wait until next week.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I spent 3 hours writing it nonstop so, I hope it didn't go in vain.**

**I was having problems writing the actual concert part of it so, if you were disappointed tell me what you would like to read and next week I'll write it down.**

**Anyway, party on reader! :P  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, it's been quite a while hasn't it? Not as long as I could namely say for a few other of my stories, but long enough I'd say.**

**It was a miracle. I was considering taking this story down and doing a different version. Just like an AC/DC thing instead. But, I listened to Slash's solo album. And I thought, "Wow. Maybe these could be the songs that they write." Well, this will be a long-ish chapter, (Maybe) so they're going to make a few songs, have a party at their apartment, and of course, play live. But, they're going to live on the Rock N' Roll lifestyle. Booze and floozies make the world go round. :P**

**P.S. I'm going to work on details. You'll know what the guys are wearing, what the guitars look like, what brand and model they are, and just things like that. But, if it's horrible, remember, I'm bad at it. Give me some slack. :P**

**Oh, and as a little author's note, I don't make beefy paragraphs okay? I just don't. Either get over it or don't read. I don't really care which.  
**

**Anyway, I'll shut up now.**

**

* * *

**Will opened his eyes slowly. He looked down and saw a beer in his hand and spilled all over himself. He groaned and rolled off his bed, covering his face as he hit the stained carpet.

He let go of the beer, not caring that it was now spilling on the carpet, and slowly got up. He walked to his drawer, opened it, and recklessly threw his clothes all over the place, trying to find the right one.

_Found it..._ He thought as he grabbed his black Mötley Crüe shirt and a random pair of blue jeans.

He quickly got dressed and slowly walked out his door, smiling as he saw the wreckage that was their apartment.

Beer cans, food, trash, burned out people, you name it and it was on the carpet. He walked through the wreckage and found his way to the bathroom. You may not think it if you saw his apartment, but he was hygienic when it came to his teeth.

He stumbled into his bathroom and laughed a bit at the site of Mick passed out on the floor.

_Greatest night ever..._ He thought as he picked up his toothbrush and started laying toothpaste on it.

After he was done he walked back into his room. He didn't know why since he had stayed up until 4:00 AM or so last night, but he woke up at eight in the morning. He jumped on his bed, looked to his right, and grabbed his Gibson Les Paul. It had a heritage cherry sunburst finish, and it had a carved flamed top. It had a slim rosewood neck which he preferred over wide necks. He had swapped the pickups out a while ago for Classic 57' pickups. It was simply the sound he enjoyed and he didn't have the need to play without it. It was _his _sound. Why bother with something else?

Among the chaos of last night, he actually wrote a song. Lyrics and all. Nobody else knew about it yet. And he wanted to surprise them with it.

He looked at the lyrics he wrote and laughed at the first verse. He wasn't going to change it though. The lyrics were written perfectly. He plugged his Gibson into his 50's Gibson amp and started playing what he wrote the night before. He expected it to be a big jumbled up mess since he was drunk when he wrote it, but he was amazed by the fact it actually sounded _good._ He sang the lyrics softly, already knowing the sound he had last night, and he went on to the chorus, messing up a few notes and chords.

* * *

At about twelve everybody started to wake up. Will had gotten a bit lonely and decided to play a few loud, high pitched notes, knowing their reaction would be funny.

"Turn that off!" Allan yelled, getting up from the floor with a serious face.

Will laughed and stopped, he wasn't as drunk as his band mates and knew it hurt them a lot more than it did he.

Mick walked, or, more specifically, stumbled out of the bathroom. Obviously relieved that Will stopped, and simply smiled at the wreckage. Reminding Will of his reaction.

"Well, seems like we have achieved our first Rock N' Roll party." He said still looking at their apartment.

"Why the hell were you in the bathroom?" Gilan asked as he slowly got off the couch.

"That's an answer I'd like to know as well." Mick responded, carefully walking up to the middle of the room.

Slade walked out of his room and didn't seem stunned. Wherever he came from, this was a regular routine of the day.

"Morning ladies." He greeted, walking towards the couch and landing on it. Obviously still nurturing his head.

Will decided he wanted to tell them all now. Sick of waiting.

"Anybody want to hear the song I wrote last night?" He asked, obviously a bit excited.

"When you were drunk? I'd love to." Mick said sarcastically.

"I actually tested it out this morning. It's not bad. It's definitely a party song." He said, walking back towards his room.

"I'm assuming you have the lyrics and everything written down?" Slade asked. Knowing it was usually the singer's duty to do that.

"Yeah. All I need is everything I don't play. Last time I heard, that's your guy's department's." Will answered as he grabbed his amp and walked out.

* * *

After playing it the band was impressed. He didn't sing it. He simply gave Slade the pizza box on which he wrote them to assess them.

"This is actually pretty good. We should start working on it." Gilan said, reading the lyrics and listening to Will's guitar.

"Now? We haven't even eaten! Why do you people always jump to music before everything else!" Allan complained. Being the usual unlikeable character he was.

"Okay then," Mick turned towards Allan, "everyone except the useless drummer can work on the song, and the worthless drummer can go buy us some food. His treat." Mick said, telling Allan his little outburst was nearly the end of him.

Everyone smiled, appreciating Mick's quick thinking. That was one thing everyone loved about him.

Allan looked around in anger. "Fine!" He yelled as he stormed out and slammed the door.

"He's chipper this morning." Will said as he started tuning his guitar.

* * *

When Allan returned an hour later with pizzas he was still angry. But he decided to let it aside and start on the song.

The rest of the band had made a lot of progress. And they were working on the outro when he put the pizzas down.

"Care to let me see what you made so I can compose something?" He asked as he sighed a bit.

"Sure." Slade said.

As they ended Allan sighed. It was a four minute song or more, and they had made the sound already. Meaning he had to be precise with everything. He couldn't just change things. Not without being fired anyway...

"I'll start working on it after we eat..." Allan said, getting on the couch and grabbing a slice of pizza.

* * *

Hours later, Allan had finally finished. The rest of the band went out to a music store or something.

_Typical that they would leave me..._ He thought bitterly. It didn't help that he couldn't actually _play _the drums. It was an apartment, not a studio. And he had to write everything with his mind, which did not help his already bitter mood.

He looked up from the couch as the door opened and he saw the rest of the band walking in. Still laughing a bit at a joke.

"Finished yet?" Will asked as he laid out a lawn chair he'd just bought because of the limited seating.

"Yeah. _Finally._ It was hard considering I couldn't actually play the drums but, with what I've written in my head, I think I have something that's good. We should talk to Eddie to see if we can have band practices at the Gasworks or something." Allan responded.

"Sounds good to me." Mick said as he sat down and threw a beer to Allan.

"Did I mention you're my favorite?" Allan said, very pleased at the beer he had in his hand.

Everyone smiled a little bit, happy Allan was done with his little fit.

"For being in L.A. there's not a whole lot to do. I figured that when I moved out of my little town I wouldn't know what to do with myself." Will said, simply making idle conversation.

Everyone just sat there for a minute thinking of something to do.

"I've never been to the beach before." Slade proposed, and everyone had obviously liked the idea.

* * *

As everyone walked on the beach they looked in marvel. Beautiful woman in bikini's, the ocean, the sand, it was something none of them except Mick had experienced before.

"I should've done this a long time ago." Will said they walked side by side along the beach, taking in the sights.

"I wish I actually had a swimming suit though. Considering I would actually be able to _go_ into the water." Gilan said.

"Who needs a swimming suit?" Mick asked while taking off his shoes and shirt, following by running into the water.

Everyone smiled and started doing the same, not really caring anymore.

"Gilan, if I were you I'd swim just a little to the right. Unless of course you'd like to be peed on." Mick told Gilan, pointing at the jelly fish near him.

Gilan swam the opposite direction a little frantically, obviously not taking a liking to the creatures. To which everyone responded by laughing.

"That's enough of the ocean for now." Gilan said as he walked onto the beach, shaking his head a little to help get the water off.

"Aw. What's the matter? Afraid of the jelly fish?" Mick asked, as he and the rest started swimming near the shore.

"Not really. It's that I was more concerned about." Gilan said as he pointed his finger towards the shark that was about 100 yards away.

"Yeah. Last time I watched Jaws I don't remember the actors having tea parties with them." Slade said before he started swimming faster.

When they all got out of the water they accompanied Gilan as he sat on the sand, looking at a group of girls that were tanning.

"I never really got the whole point of tanning. You can get tanned enough by just being out in the sun or swimming." Gilan comment, turning his head towards the ocean.

"It's just a lazy excuse to go to the beach I guess." Slade said, looking at the sight around him.

"I'm really excited about playing our song tomorrow." Will said, not really interested in the current fading conversation.

"Yeah. I just wish we had more. It will be really cool when we barely do covers and play our own songs." Gilan agreed.

"All in due time I suppose." Will responded.

* * *

As the band entered The Gasworks they immediately had confused faces as they listened to the horrible music being played. The singer just screamed the entire time, accompanied by the guitarists playing chords and notes that didn't go well together, and the drummer abusing the tom toms.

"It's like the next Slipknot in the making!" Will yelled, showing his obvious hate for the band.

"Why would Eddie allow this crap to be played?" Slade asked rhetorically.

"Because I didn't know they were this horrible." They heard Eddie respond behind them.

"Oh, hi." Will greeted.

"Nice to see you guys here. I'm happy to see you guy's are never late." Eddie said while shaking their hands in greeting.

"We do our best. But I don't know if we'll be able to play tonight. I've suddenly lost all love for music." Gilan told him while looking at the band who was currently playing again. "What's their band name?"

"Crushul Deth. I never knew it stood for the crucial death of music though." Eddie replied, looking at the band disdainfully.

"How long do they have to play?" Slade asked while he walked with the rest of them near the bar.

"If they don't cause a riot? Ten, painfully slow minutes." Eddie told Slade while sitting down on a bar stool. "The usual." He told the bartender.

"I don't think I can last that long." Allan responded quickly.

"Try having been here the whole other hour. I think this is the first time I've ever actually had suicidal thoughts!" He said, immediately sipping his drink.

"I think you should make a bigger stage. It's hard to duck walk on a stage that small." Will joked.

"Yeah. I've been cheaping out lately. I've been making a lot of money recently. Maybe I should invest." Eddie agreed.

"I was just joking you know. I can't even do the duck walk." Will explained.

"I've been thinking about it anyway. It's hard to play and move up there. I know from personal experience."

* * *

After "Crushul Deth" was done playing they went up to Will and the rest of the band.

"Have fun trying to get the crowd going wild after that performance." Their singer said with a scowl on his white painted face.

"Oh yes, it would take tens of milliseconds to do better." Slade whipped back.

"You better shut your mouth. You don't know who you're dealing with." The singer said while moving up closer.

"Well, from the anger in all of your faces, I'm assuming you act like you do because you missed arts and crafts at camp today." Slade said, and then immediately ducked because the singer threw a punch at his face, meaning the brawl was on.

Slade used the momentum of being ducked down and slammed his fist in an upward strike at the guy's stomach, sending him backwards but he was awkwardly bending down at the same time.

Will put his guitar on the ground as he saw their drummer charged at him. _Wonderful. I get the strong guy..._ Will thought as he evaded the man's punch and punched the guy's cheek, sending him to the ground. But the man got back up and tackled Will with his shoulder, knocking the wind out of him. But Mick kicked the guy's ribs, sending him off Will.

Will got up and jumped on the guy, using his elbow on the guy's chest, followed by a punch to the face and a knee to the groin. That man was done with for at least an hour.

People backed away as the two guitarists in the band charged at Slade. Slade grabbed a chair and slammed it into the one one the right's ribs, actually breaking the chair because of the immense momentum. Mick ran over and grabbed the guy, picking him up and slamming him onto one of the tables. Nearly breaking it.

The bassist ran away as Allan and Gilan walked towards him, not wanting to share the experience he'd witnessed his friends have.

They looked at Eddie as he walked towards them, hoping he wasn't going to be mad at them.

"Way to rumble, guys. But uh, Mick, did you really have to slam that guy into a table?" Eddie asked, pointing at the man who groaned on the ground.

"I was in the moment." Mick answered with his usual quick wit.

* * *

When they were ready the crowd cheered, showing their gratitude that the band played _music _and not screamo.

The band started playing the Mötley Crüe song Wild Side, noting how a few of the people didn't know what they were playing.

"Kneel down ye sinners to streetwise religion, greed's been crowned the new king. Hollywood's dream teens, yesterday's trash queens. Save the blessing for the final ring!"

"Amen!" The rest of the band yelled, giving a new energy to the song.

"Take a ride on the wild side!"

* * *

The band had played for an hour and a half, deciding it was time to end the show.

Will walked up to the mic, showing obvious pleasure that he was about to play the song he wrote.

"This next song is a song I wrote two days ago when I was drunk during a party. And it shows through that it's truly a party song." Will stated. He walked back slowly and started the intro.

The crowd was amazed they'd written a song, they'd expected only covers. But it was a welcome surprise. (Get ready to be weirded out)

"Gee, I really like your tits I'll say anything that... fits  
We carry our vision Wherever we go!  
If you keep your mouth shut It's still gonna show.

We're all gonna die!  
So let's get high!  
We're all gonna die!  
So let's be nice.  
I'm in the mood!  
So let's intrude.  
Pee on the ground!  
And jump around.

I'm getting sick of paying bills  
I need my doctor, I need my pills  
We carry our women  
Wherever we go  
If you keep their mouth shut  
They're gonna moan  
(Mhm)

We're all gonna die!  
So let's get high!  
We're all gonna die!  
So let's be nice.  
I'm in the mood!  
So let's intrude.  
Pee on the ground!  
And jump around.

Life is demanding  
But I'm just a bum  
And if I respect it, boy  
I feel dumb!"

Will started the solo, being accompanied by Mick. It was a co-solo, and it was bettor for it.

"We're all gonna die!  
So let's get high!  
We're all gonna die!  
So let's be nice.  
I'm in the mood!  
So let's intrude.  
Pee on the ground!  
And jump around.

We're all gonna die!" Slade yelled as Will started the second solo.

"We're all gonna die!"

We're all gonna die!"Slade yelled periodically during the solo.

"I wanna, I wanna, I wanna whip it out and pee on the ground!" Slade yelled, making Will smile a bit as he looked at the neck of his guitar. Every note needed to be precise. He couldn't afford to even almost miss a note.

"We're all gonna die!" Slade yelled as everybody played their finals chords, letting them ring out.

_I hope Alyss didn't hear this song... _Will thought absentmindedly.

* * *

**Before I say anything I would like everybody to give a * at the end of their comment. On Friday a semi hit a truck head on and both men were killed. Why would I do something special for them? I knew both of them. The guy in the semi was our truck driver that delivered our food, and the guy in the truck was to be married next month and we were going to cater his wedding. Raul, (The semi driver) has five kids. Five, people. And Steven had a daughter, not to mention he was to be married next month. So please, show your respect.**

**Anyways, that song always makes me laugh. It doesn't make any sense, but it's still an awesome song. And I felt really, no, extremely awkward writing the first line of the song so, if you'd like to comfort me I'd appreciate it. :P**

**But anyways, here's exciting news: This is the longest chapter I've EVER written in any of my stories. It took me HOURS to write and edit it so, please, if it sucked, be nice about it. :P**

**As another author's note, I've been having trouble write the actual song parts in this story. If you have anything you'd like to read about during them I would LOVE to hear it.**

**So anyways, read, review etc.**

**Party on reader!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Man, was it me or was the last chapter my best chapter ever in the history of the Miles Needs Help Corporation? It not only had the most details, but it was also the longest. Ever. But, I can gladly say, THIS ONE SURPASSES IT IN LENGTH!  
**

**Anyways, enough of that. I wasn't sure what to do with this chapter, but all the writing was forced out. Meaning it probably won't be as good as the previous chapter. But, I'm going to have Will buy a Gibson SG. That's right, he'll be rocking out Angus Young style! They'll also be playing AC/DC. The reason I'm having Will buy a Gibson SG s because I love AC/DC. And because of that, I'm in the mood for some SG rocking AC/DC damn it! (In the next chapter)  
**

**This will sorta be the part two of the last chapter. Seeing as how, you know, it sorta starts with them getting off stage and stuff... :P  
**

**So anyways, enjoy reading.**

**

* * *

**As the guys got off stage they held their hands up to the crowd, smiling as the crowd cheered back. They walked up to Eddie near the bar, who, once again, had a smile on his face**.**

"Great show guys! You guys were even better than last week." He greeted. "By the way, I think it's high time I payed you guys." He said handing them a check.

The guys looked in awe at the price on it. They didn't know it would be this big.

"Five _thousand _dollars? Eddie, you're too kind!" Mick said smiling in surprise.

"Well, you wouldn't think things would get this big that fast, but once word spread the thunder from down under of this century was here, I've had at _least_ seventy more people. So, ten dollars a ticket, seventy more people, it all adds up fast. And I thought I'd thank you in the proper way." He explained, taking another shot of whiskey.

"Thanks a lot man! I can get used to this." Will said, truly grateful.

"Yeah, spend it on something important. You know, like beer." Eddie said, seeming serious at first but cracking a smile after a few seconds.

"I'll do that. Thanks again Eddie." Slade said as they all started to walk off. Eddie nodded his head and spun his bar chair in the other direction, looking at the crowd and the stage.

* * *

As Will woke up he had a special feeling in his gut. It was the feeling of not having a hangover. He wished every morning was like this.

He rolled out of bed, walking past his dresser, not caring about wearing newer clothes. He didn't really care that his shirt was sort of dirty. It wasn't even _that_ dirty anyway. He hated people that changed into new clothes everyday. It's only been a day. The clothes are fine.

As he walked into the living room he tripped over a beer bottle and stumbled. Though he got his balance back before he hit the ground. He looked at Mick who was sleeping on the couch and shook his head.

_He really likes that couch doesn't he? _Will thought to himself.

He grabbed a pop tart out of the cabinet and opened it, trying to keep his breakfast light. He was never one to eat a whole lot. He then shook his head again, remembering his father's words: _If you don't eat you won't grow. _He laughed to himself, remembering his response: _I do eat. Otherwise I'd be dead._

His smile faded as he remembered what happened. His mother. He killed her. It was his fault, and he never even acknowledged it. He was too busy doing all the things his mother raised him not to do.

He sat on his chair and put his hands on his forehead between his hair, regretting every bit of his past.

_It was my fault... I loved my mother... She supported me... She loved me... She took care of me... I promised that when I got the money I'd give her everything she asked for... But instead I gave her death..._

"Are you okay?" Mick asked, making Will jump out of his chair slightly.

"I'm fine!" Will said abruptly, cursing himself in his mind.

"You don't exactly seem like it. Your eyes were welling up." Mick said, a bit confused by the whole situation. He wasn't good at these types of things. He always had an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

"Oh, it was nothing. I was just... thinking is all." Will answered, trying to cover himself in the situation.

"Uh... huh... Well, that's... interesting. No more thinking." Mick joked, trying to lighten up the situation.

Will simply laughed a bit and got up, cursing at himself again. Mick may have joked about it, but he was going to follow his advice. No more thinking was a good idea.

* * *

A few hours later everybody except Allan was playing music in the main room. Allan was off doing his own thing. And as they ended the song Will got a serious face, getting everybody's attention.

"Guys, we're a real Rock N' Roll band now. We need to re-shape everything. Our band is a jumbled up mess. And part of cleaning up a mess includes, getting rid of a few things." Will said, making sure everyone caught the hint. But it was to no avail.

"What do you mean?" Gilan asked.

"Well, I mean, we need to re-shape the band. Have you guys ever gotten the feeling that Allan isn't one of us?" Will answered and asked at the same time.

"Are you suggesting that we get rid of Allan?" Slade asked, knowing the answer but he felt like asking anyway.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. He doesn't like our music, he's a jerk, he has anger problems, and, when I walked into his room I found this." Will held up a bag of cocaine, wondering why anybody would ever be stupid enough to use this stuff. He was in no way a saint, but drugs were one thing he stayed away from.

"I agree. He's always late for practice. And when he gets here he tries to run everything. I've been wanting this conversation to happen since the day he's been here." Gilan agreed.

"Does everybody else feel the same way?" Will asked.

Slowly, Slade and Mick nodded their heads, making Will happy he wasn't going to have to kick out anybody else.

"Good. Now that we're all clear on this, the next time we see him we'll kick him out." Will explained, getting back to his guitar.

* * *

Allan hadn't gotten back, and after a few hours they got bored of playing the same songs over and over again so they went to the Guitar Center near them.

"Can I help you?" One of the employees asked almost immediately when they walked through the entrance.

"That was quick..." Mick whispered into Gilan's ear and Gilan smirked.

"Uh... yeah." Will answered a bit awkwardly. "I wanted to look at the Gibson SG's you guys have."

"Right this way." The employee said as he guided them to the big wall on their right that had all the electric guitars.

Slade and Gilan walked towards the bass guitars, but Will stopped them.

"Where are you guys going?" Will asked while he looked back.

"This way when you find your guitar and buy it it'll be like a surprise." Slade answered sarcastically as they walked away.

Will caught back up with Mick and the employee and looked at the SG's they had.

"What are you looking for in your SG?" The employee asked, getting on Mick's nerves a bit.

"I'd like it to play music." Will answered in his usual sarcastic way. Laughing in his mind at the employees reaction.

"If you don't know what you want than I can't help you." He responded with a little anger in him.

"I can't remember asking you for your help. Thanks though." Will said, moving on a bit through the selection. When it came to guitars he knew everything about them. He didn't need an employee to act superior around him.

The employee stormed off, saying bits of curses quietly. Mick and Will laughed a bit as they looked back, wondering where this guy got his weird behavior from.

"What happened to the good ol' days when the employees here didn't give a damn?" Will asked as he grabbed a black SG and studied it.

"The morals in this country have simply gone downhill." Mick agreed, grabbing a nice looking black Fender Stratocaster.

They walked a little bit to the aisle that had the amps that you could plug your guitar into. Will plugged his in and tested each note slowly to see how out of tune they were. As expected, they were very out of tune, but he wasn't that impressed by the guitar's sound.

Mick plugged his in and did the same as Will. He played a few power chords and was blown back by the tone the guitar had. He started to play Girl's Girl's Girl's which was a personal favorite of his, and he admired how much better it was than his current Fender Stratocaster.

"That sounds nice." Will said as he listened. Tapping his foot to give Mick a beat.

Mick stopped after a few minutes and looked at Will's SG. "Let's hear yours." He said, remembering he wasn't the only one who was testing out guitars.

Will played an open chord in the rhythm pickup and looked down confused as there was no sound. He looked at the amp to see if it was on and was surprised by the fact it was. He looked at the volume knob on both his guitar and the amp but, once again they were on. He flipped the toggle switch to the middle and there was sound. But even then, it didn't sound good. He shook his head as he flipped it down and heard almost no difference.

"There's no way Gibson made this guitar." Will said unplugging it.

"Of course there isn't. That's an Epiphone genius."

* * *

After a while of looking around Will found a really nice Gibson SG. It had a faded black finish and had 490R and 490T alnico magnet humbuckers. He looked at the price tag and saw it was only eight hundred dollars.

"I'm gonna buy this one." Will told Mick. Mick nodded his head in agreement.

"Good choice. Not too crazy about the rounded neck though." Mick said as they walked up to the front counter.

"Yeah. I like thin necks. This is tolerable though." Will said.

As they walked up they realized the guy who was going to ring up their guitars was the guy they made mad earlier. Will smiled on the inside, noting how something funny was probably about to happen.

"Hello delinquents. Found guitars you like?" He said with a frown on his face when he realized who the guys were.

"Yep." Mick answered.

"Wonderful... Sir, can you show me your price tag?" He asked Will.

"Sure." Will said flipping it towards him.

"Sir, can you hand me the guitar so I can cut the price tag off?" He asked in a 'I hate you more than anyone else I know' sort of way.

Will smiled and laid the guitar on the counter, trying not to laugh.

As the guy cut the price tag off with his scissors he gave Will his guitar back, giving Will the glare of death.

Mick showed the guy the price tag as the guy was about to ask, making the guy even madder.

"You keep the guitars while I go fine Slade and Gilan." Will told Mick as he started to walk away.

"Alright. Be quick." Mick told Will.

Will walked towards the back of the store where there was a new room, filled with bass's and drums. He walked towards the back wall, finding Slade and Gilan there.

"Hey guys, we're about to leave. Are you guys staying or going?" Will asked, looking at the nice bass Gilan had in his hands.

"I'm gonna test out a few more bass's and I'll head home. See you there." Gilan responded, only looking at Will for a second.

"Okay. See ya." Will said, walking back to the front.

* * *

Will and Mick walked through their front door, seeing Allan watching the TV.

"Where were you guys? I've been waiting for an hour!" He said as he looked back.

"Sorry honey. We'll promise not to do it again." Will responded as he put his guitar down on the couch.

"Though you would've known had you not have disappeared the entire day." Mick added as he walked into his room and put his guitar up. He came out seconds later.

Allan simply grumbled and kept watching the television.

Will groaned as he sat down on the couch. Wondering what he could do.

"I think I'm gonna go call Alyss. Maybe have dinner or something." He said as he picked up the house phone off the coffee table.

He dialed the number as he read it off the card Alyss gave him, making sure he didn't make a mistake. He had a look of satisfaction as he looked at both numbers and saw they matched.

He dialed the number, wondering if she would accept or not.

"_Hello?"_ Alyss asked as she picked up the phone.

"Hi Alyss. It's Will." Will responded, feeling sort of awkward since Allan was staring at him.

_"Oh, hi Will. What's going on?" _

"Nothing at the moment. That's why I called. I wanted to know if you would eat dinner with me tonight?" He asked, mouthing "What?" to Allan.

_"Oh, sure. What time and where?" _Alyss said, making Will very happy.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I was hoping you would know a place. Don't worry about cost either." Will answered, glaring at Allan.

_"Well, there's a Red Lobster close by. It will be a bit expensive though." _She answered back.

"Sounds great to me. I'll pick you up at seven."

_"Okay. Bye." _

Will heard the click and glared at Allan.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"Do you have to be so fricking creepy all the time? I was talking to Alyss. It's sorta hard to keep track of what she's saying when you're _staring at me."_ Will said, putting emphasis on the last three words.

"Well excuse me!" Allan yelled as he got up and walked to his room.

"You're going to your room, good. That way you can pack." Will said, finally breaking the ice.

Allan slowly walked out his room in confusion. "_What?"_

"You heard me. Pack your bags and go to wherever. I don't care. You have, or, at least, _had_ a thousand dollars. I'm sure you'll be fine for a while." Will said, getting up.

"Fine! This is a stupid band anyway! You'll never make it anywhere!" He yelled, going back in his room.

"Whatever." Will said, not caring what he thought.

* * *

As Will parked Gilan's Firebird in front of Alyss house he suddenly felt a sense of nervousness. Around girls he was usually smooth and was relaxed. But not with this girl. Will actually had a _shower _and _changed_ before he came here. He never did that for a date. Which is probably one of the main reasons he'd never had a long-lasting relationship.

He walked up the sidewalk, studying himself. He had clean blue jeans with a black shirt that had a picture and name of the band Aerosmith on it. He had nothing but shirts that had bands on them. Which was probably why his church didn't like him.

He walked up the steps of the house, ringing the door bell. Once again feeling a big sense of nervousness.

He was surprised when he saw a well built man in his forties answer the door. Will assumed it was probably her father.

"Hello. Is Alyss there?" Will asked, a bit shocked.

"_You're_ the man my daughter is dating?" The man asked, unimpressed.

Will was a bit shocked. He didn't like these sort of situations. He'd been in them before. They usually ended with a big slam of the door.

"I... Uh... Yeah..." Will answered awkwardly. Paying attention to the big muscles the man had.

The man frowned for a minute. But it slowly faded into a smile. Will was confused at first, but caught on quickly.

"I'm just joking with you young man. I'm sure your a trustworthy man. Alyss! Your date is here!" He yelled. "My name is Rodney, by the way. Nice to have your acquaintance." The man said as he shook Will's hand. Will winced in pain at the iron grip Rodney had, but he did his best not to show it.

Alyss walked into sight and Will looked in awe. She was wearing a plain white shirt with a long blue skirt. **(1)** It was simple, but she looked beautiful in it.

"Hello Will." She smiled as she went up to greet him. Will was speechless for a moment, but he caught himself before he made too much of a fool out of himself.

"Hi." It was a short sentence, but it saved him an awkward silence.

"Alright dad. We'll be back around eight-thirty." Alyss said as she walked by his said and looked at Rodney.

"Okay. You two have fun." He smiled and waved as he slowly closed the door.

Alyss wrapped her arms around his left as he escorted her to the car. It shocked him at first, but he really enjoyed the closeness he got out of it.

"You look beautiful." He said finally, departing his arm from hers so he could open the door for her.

"Thank you. You look very handsome." She smiled back as she got in the car.

_I can't believe I'm dating this woman..._

_

* * *

_Will and Alyss were eating at the Red Lobster Alyss told Will about. Will was in awe. He'd never had the money to eat there before. He was amazed simply by the rolls they had.

"So Alyss," He started as he looked up from his lobster. "do you play any instruments?" Will asked.

"Yes, actually. I've been playing piano for twelve years now." She answered with her usual smile.

Will was intrigued because he had an idea. "Really? Is it an electric piano?" He asked a little suspiciously.

"I have two pianos. One is electric and one isn't. Why?" Alyss asked, sort of catching on.

"Can you play the piano riff to The Final Countdown by Europe?" He asked, getting a bit too suspicious for Alyss' liking. **(2)**

"Yes... But I'm not playing it live." She answered, stopping Will in is tracks.

"Oh, come on. Please? Just once as a favor?" Will asked, sort of laughing since he sounded so pathetic.

Alyss looked in thought and sort of sighed while smiling.

"Come on? Please?" He asked again.

"Oh... Fine... Just once though." Alyss said smiling as she finally gave in.

"Good." Will said.

Though Will was having a good time, he looked down in a bit of depression for a moment. **(3)**

"What's wrong?" Alyss asked concerned.

Will looked up and smiled a fake smile immediately. "It's nothing. Just forget it." He said. He didn't like lying, but for some reason his mind wandered back to his mother, and he wasn't quite ready to tell Alyss about that. Or planned on it ever.

"Will, I know you're lying. I saw something in your eyes. Just tell me. Maybe I can help?" Alyss assured him.

"It's just... very personal is all. It's... It's about my mother." Will explained, not smiling anymore.

Alyss grabbed his hand from across the table, showing him she was serious. "If you don't want to tell me it's okay. But if you want to talk to someone about this, I'm always here." She assured Will again.

"Well... My father was very abusive. He hated my music, what I liked to do, everything. He just... didn't like me. And, one day he told me my hair was far too long, and that if my hair wasn't cut when I got back from school, he'd kick me out of the house. So I packed my bags that morning before I went to school, because I wasn't going to cut my hair. When I got back he freaked out and I ran to my room. I heard my mother getting beat up so, I ran out to help her. But, by the time I was out there my father had broken her ribs. One of them punctured her lung... She died shortly after..." Will said. He didn't cry or have his eyes well up, but his words showed true sorrow. **(4)**

Alyss was in disbelief. _How could something so horrible happen to someone like Will? It always seems that the best of people get the worst of situations._ She thought to herself.

"Will... I... I never knew that you'd been through so much..." She said. She was expecting something a little less difficult to talk about, but life had it's surprises.

"It... It was my fault. _I_ killed her. If I'd cut my hair she wouldn't have died."

"Will, you didn't kill your mom. Your father did. And no matter how much you don't believe it, you didn't kill her. From what I hear you did this because you thought this would be your only way out of your town, correct?" Will nodded. "Than this was the sensible thing at the time. Instead of a way of punishment for you, it was a way out. You didn't know something like this would happen, right?" Will nodded again. "Than it's not your fault. Don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't know." Alyss explained, holding Will's hand still.

Will looked down and thought for a few minutes. He thought about what Alyss had to say, and he thought that maybe she was right.

"Alyss?"

"Yes Will?" She asked.

"Thanks."

* * *

**1: I wasn't able to explain what she was wearing better because I'm a guy and don't know the names of all the clothing woman buy.**

**2: Many, many people mistake the riff on The Final Countdown to be done with some sort of horn instrument. HOWEVER, it is done by a piano with a synthesizer on it. Synthesizer... That's a fun word to say... Synthesizer...  
**

**3: That is a HORRIBLE transition, I know. Because by all rights he should be smiling at that moment, but what happened was I was writing something different and I didn't like it so I deleted it. THEREFORE, just live with it. :P**

**4: Yes, I do realize that is not what happened in the original version. But, I edited it. Meaning, it's much better. The reason I did that is because many people judge a story by the first chapter. I myself do it. So, if the first chapter sucks, than less and less people will read it than there should be.  
**

**ANYWAYS... That's the chapter. I wasn't quite sure what do to. And, as a result, this is a pretty pointless chapter. There were some key things that happened in this chapter that made it worth reading though I think. But, I don't know, your the reader. You tell me. :P**

**Anyways, review if you like. (Meaning REVIEW!) And please be nice. If most of the people don't like the chapter I will take down the chapter and edit it.**

** Press the button below.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so happy I could do a cartwheel! And I can't do one!**

**Basically, I found the guitar I'm gonna buy. A Epiphone Les Paul Tribute. I know what you're thinking. "Miles, an Epiphone? Not a Gibson?" It has REAL Gibson pickups in it. It's also beautiful. AND, it has a slim neck. Those were the important things for me about finding a guitar, so, I'm gonna buy it.  
**

**And also, I have so many reviews on this story! Plus, I finally figured out what I'll do with this story. The last chapter sorta showed what I'm gonna do with this story. Changes in the band, touring, record labels, etc.  
**

** Think about it, for the first time EVER, I actually know what I'm gonna do with a story. It's like colors I've never seen before...**

**On an actual important note, you can no longer send messages on this profile. Well, you can, but it might not let you. Instead, go to my new backup profile, Will's Apprentice. It didn't used to be. It used to be my friend's profile. But she's done using the internet, (For personal reasons) so she decided to give me the account. Seeing as how, you know, I have a virus and it keeps disabling private messages...**

**P.S. I got it wrong when I did a description of Will's SG. It's not faded black. It's a regular black guitar. I have no idea what I was thinking.  
**

**Anyways, please enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Will woke up in his bed, feeling a lot better after the talk he had with Alyss last night. He realized that Alyss was right. It wasn't his fault. And he should move on with life in honor of his mother's dreams for him.

He got up, walking to his dresser, taking his shirt off in the process.

He opened the drawer and took out his Guns N' Roses Cross shirt. He smiled, remembering how his father reacted when he walked into the house with the "devil's shirt" on.

He walked into the main room, wincing at how it was getting worse and worse. It was funny at first, but it was getting ridiculous. He couldn't imagine what Alyss would do if she saw it.

Walking up to the kitchen, he remembered that he had to recruit a drummer. And he had to do it the right way this time. But he would worry about that later.

After realizing there was no food, he didn't really mind. He wasn't that hungry anyway. _This must be God's way of saying lay off the food... _He thought to himself as he walked back to his room to retrieve his Gibson Les Paul.

He took it out of it's case and gazed in amazement. It looked the same as it did when he bought it five years previously. He'd always treasured it, and it showed when you saw it.

There were specific things he'd always liked about it. Slim 60's neck, smooth beautiful finish, locking tuners and guitar strap locks, no pick guard, he'd always pictured his Les Paul to look like it did. It's cost was three thousand, but it was all worth it. His father didn't like the fact he didn't play classical music, which was to be expected, but he never cared. If his father didn't like it, too bad. He played the music that was in his soul, and that's how it was.

Suddenly, out of the blue, he'd gotten inspiration for a song. He'd always loved the Medieval ages, particularly the bow, but for some reason, deep down, he'd found inspiration that he thought would be an awesome song.

He plugged it into the amp, turned the knobs to the sound he thought he heard in his head, and searched around the neck to find the first note he heard in his head. When he found it, he went on to the next, and then the next, smiling to himself. There was something magical going on between him and his guitar, and he was in awe. He always felt something special when he played, but this was new. Better, even.

Once he got the intro down he started making lyrics. It went surprisingly faster than last time. Somehow in his heart, he knew that this would be his biggest song. And that this would maybe make it onto the radio.

* * *

As he hit the final note, he smiled and felt proud of himself. His new song, By The Sword, was definitely what he thought it would be, and more. He knew that it would sound outstanding when Gilan put his best work on his bass line, Mick made an amazing rhythm, and when Slade screamed into the mic. He looked at the clock and saw it was twelve. "Time to wake up the boys..." He said aloud to himself, proudly walking with his Gibson Les Paul. Unplugging it on the way.

He walked into the open room and looked around, noticing nobody was up yet.

"Time to wake up!" He screamed loudly, noticing noises coming from the rooms surrounding him.

Mick walked through his door first, rubbing his face and eyes.

"Not sleeping on the couch I see." Will said jokingly. Mick simply smiled in return, yawning quickly after.

Slade and Gilan walked out of Slade's room, being met by eyes of confusion.

"What the hell were the both of you doing in there?" Mick asked, suddenly becoming more awake.

"That's it. No more late night drinking." Gilan said, and everybody nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yeah, that would be a good plan." Will replied, still in confusion.

"I notice you have a guitar in your hand." Slade said. "It's either you made a song, or you decided not to torture us with a loud screeching noise." Slade guessed, trying to get on with everything.

"Both, actually." Will answered truthfully.

"Well, get on with it then." Slade said, obviously still tired.

* * *

As the song ended, everyone was in shock. Will had the vocals to pull it off, meaning they didn't have anything to complain about.

"You're telling me you made this within an hour?" Gilan asked in disbelief.

"I started writing this song and I swear, things were levitating." Will replied, trying to share with the guys what it felt to write it.

"Well, let's put an add in the paper and start working on the song then." Mick said enthusiastically.

* * *

The Friday after the group were interviewing drummers, trying to find the right one. Nine drummers later, they felt they might've found the one.

His name was Steven. In which the band found ironic that he'd shared the same name as Steven Adler.

He was average in height, had blond hair, and had a black leather jacket with dark sunglasses on. As he played Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden flawlessly on The Gasworks stage, the band was impressed.

As he ended the track, he wiped sweat from his forehead and gave a big sigh of exhaustion. It was a track only experts could play perfectly, and he was definitely the right guy for the job.

Will looked left and right at the guys and they all gave a nod of approval.

"What can I say?" Will started, looking up from his notepad. "You're hired."

* * *

The band practiced for another two hours, working on their songs, and teaching a few to Steven, when Eddie walked in.

"Sounds great guys." He said as he walked up towards the stage. "Are you sure you can't play here again this weekend?" He asked pleadingly.

"This place is awesome, but we have to cover more clubs and stages. We found a guy who said he had a place that could fit two thousand people and started putting up adds all over the place. Sorry Eddie, maybe next week." Will answered with a smile on his face.

"It's alright. But just remember, you guys have a key at all times. You can practice whenever you like, and even do a concert. As long as it doesn't tamper with working hours and I'm informed." Eddie said, giving in finally.

"Alright, thanks Eddie." Slade said. "By the way, this is our new drummer Steven." Slade introduced, pointing towards Steven.

"Hey." Steven greeted.

"I remember you." Eddie said. "You were in some band called Thor or something, right?"

"Yeah. I'll be honest, I got into another band for a reason. Cool names don't balance out horrible music." Steven replied, leaning on the drums with his drum sticks still in his hands.

"I don't like to think about it." Eddie said jokingly and Steven laughed.

"Well, we open up in about an hour. Are you guys about done?" Eddie asked, walking up the stage.

"Yeah, we're done. But hey, we'll play here next week. We have a new song we think everybody will like." Will said and Eddie's face lit up.

"Really? Awesome. I'll put posters of you guys around here and say that you're playing next week then."

"Okay, cool. See ya then."

* * *

It was the next day and everybody was in the living room, getting their gear ready.

Will was grabbing his guitar when he realized he'd forgotten to tell Alyss about the concert.

He put down his stuff and ran towards the phone, dialing Alyss' number, hoping that she would pick the phone up.

_"Hello?" _Alyss' voice asked on the other end of the line.

"Hi Alyss, it's me. I wanted to know if you were doing anything important tonight."

_"I was going to go to the Gasworks. You're playing there right?"_

"No, actually. We have a gig that's going to house two thousand and I wanted to know if you'd like to go? Don't worry about money. I'll get you in backstage." Will offered.

_"Oh, really? That sounds great. Where is it?" _

"Oh, don't worry about that. I can pick you up if you like. And bring your piano."

_"Sounds great. I'll go get ready." _

"Okay, bye."

_"Bye." _

Will put the phone down and went back to retrieve his gear, but Steven stopped him.

"Who was that on the phone?" He asked.

"Oh, it was my girlfriend. You'll meet her soon." Will explained, walking into his room.

"He really has a girlfriend?" Steven asked Mick.

"Yeah. A hot one too. Don't try anything sly, though. Will would kill you. You'll understand why when you meet her."

* * *

Steven parked his tour bus with everyone in it in front of Alyss' house, leaning back while he waited for Will to get out.

It was a big tour bus. It was thirty feet long, and had long leather couches that went on both sides, with bunk beds in the very back. He had gotten it as a gift from his father when he left Anaheim, and Steven couldn't have asked for a better gift.

"Hey Steven, come with me so we can haul the piano." Will said as he walked down the steps and jumped onto the sidewalk that led up to Alyss' house.

"Okay." Steven replied as he went quickly behind.

Will knocked on the door a few times and was shocked when Alyss opened the door immediately.

"That was quick." Will said.

"It's easy to know somebody's in front of the house when they have a jet engine for a bus." She replied wittily, smiling and giving Will a hug right after.

She was wearing a long blue skirt that went to her ankles, and a shirt of Ronnie James Dio. She wore no make-up. She hated make-up. She felt it took away from her natural beauty. And she was right. She was stunning in her simple yet elegant clothing.

Steven coughed to get Will's attention, and Will snapped his head towards him.

"Oh, right. Alyss, this is our new drummer Steven." Will introduced.

"Nice to meet you." He said as he shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too." She replied, smiling as usual.

"Where's the piano?" Will asked.

"Oh, it's inside. Let's go get it." She replied as she led Will through the house. Steven following behind with his hands in his pockets.

They stopped in the living room and she showed Will and Steven where it was. It wasn't big or heavy, but it was definitely a two man job.

Steven went around to the opposite side and they lifted it with ease, walking back outside as Alyss opened the door.

They walked down the sidewalk and Alyss went to the side at the entrance of the bus, making sure neither of them tripped or dropped it.

Will was walking backwards up the high steps, it didn't matter who did it though. Neither of them were short, they were just under average height. The short one of the group was Mick, who was a few inches smaller than they.

They finally got up the steps and hauled the electric piano to the very back with the rest of the gear, putting a blanket over it and laying it on it's side in case they hit a bump.

"Thanks Steven." Will said.

"No problem." He replied, walking back to the driver's seat.

Will followed behind but stopped where one of the couches were. He smiled at Alyss as he sat down beside her. They both got in a relaxed state, Alyss slightly leaning into Will's right arm.

"Lucky bastard." Mick whispered into Slade's ear and Slade nodded definite agreement.

"How have you guys been?" Alyss asked as she looked directly across to Slade, Mick and Gilan.

"We've been good. I can't recall the last time I've drank so much. Will has the record though." Slade answered, smiling as he mentioned Will.

Will coughed and moved around in his seat a little bit, shooting a glare at Slade for a quick second.

"I recall being the only one without a hangover, actually." Will responded. And it was the truth. He didn't drink a whole lot, but he'd rather not have Alyss know he drank at all. He was a minor, after all.

"You drink?" Alyss asked in surprise.

"Occasionally. I don't drink a lot though. Probably a beer a week. I've been cutting down a lot though." Will lied. He didn't like lying, especially to Alyss, but the last thing he wanted was to break up with her. She was special to him, and he didn't want to do anything that wouldn't impress her.

"Oh, I see. You realize that's illegal right?" Alyss asked, looking at Will still.

"It shouldn't be though. In Ireland, they allow people to drink at the age of 16. It's not because of a medical reason like the government says. It's because they feel that it will stop kids from drinking. The last time I checked though, it's not working." Gilan responded. He didn't care for the government at the moment. It was falling further into socialism, and he was always interested in politics.

"That's true, but it's still illegal." Alyss agreed, giving Will a silent sigh of relief.

"Life's a sad story I suppose." Slade said with a smile.

* * *

Steven parked the bus and everybody got up, heading back to get the gear.

"I'll help you with the piano. I don't have anything important to pick up." Slade told Alyss.

"Oh, thank you." She replied, wondering on the inside if this was Slade being nice or him coming onto her. Or both.

"No problem." He said as he walked to the back with her and everybody else.

Will looked back and saw Steven coming towards the back as well, his usual care-free look on his face.

Will grabbed his Gibson Les Paul and his Gibson SG. They planned to play a little AC/DC, one of the songs being Will's favorite. Will couldn't wait for that, but he once again played the track list in his head again. They were going to play 18 songs tonight, which would definitely make their longest concert. He decided that if he forgot he would simply follow along. He was sure that he had most of it down anyway.

He walked down the long bus with Mick and Gilan. Mick was wearing a black Motley Crue shirt with blue jeans, and Gilan was wearing a black AC/DC shirt that said "Hells Bells" with a lightning bolt going in between the words.

They got off the bus and looked at the building. It had a weird rounded shape. But who were they to complain? This is where they would get more recognition.

They walked to one of the back doors that had a security guard by it.

"Hello. Is this where we get into the back?" Mick asked.

"It depends on the person who's asking." The guard replied.

Will looked around, wondering how this guy could be this moronic.

"We would be the band." Will answered.

The guard didn't reply, and simply opened the door. Will shook his head in confusion, totally dumbfounded by the guy. He stopped while he was halfway through the door though. He needed to make sure this guy would let Slade and Alyss in.

"By the way, two more people are coming. They'll have a piano. Let them in." Will told the guard and the guard simply nodded his head.

They walked through the hallway and took a left, somehow knowing where to go. It was a simple place, and it was easy to find your way around things.

They opened a door and they found themselves backstage. It was a big backstage, with plenty of room to spread out and get warmed up.

"I'll go find the guy." Will said as he put his guitars down at the side.

There were a few people walking around in a hectic manner, as if something was going on.

"Hello, I'm looking for John. Do you know where he is?" Will asked one of the guys.

"Oh, he's up a little further. You won't miss him." The guy responded, immediately getting back to whatever he was doing.

Will listened to what the guy said and he walked up a little further and, sure enough, there John was.

John looked at Will and seemed to have a relieved look over his face.

"Finally, you're here! We were beginning to think you weren't coming! Get warmed up. You have fifteen minutes." He said and Will nodded his head. Fifteen minutes was definitely enough time to get ready.

He ran back to the guys and saw them messing around with their instruments.

"Get warmed up. We have fifteen minutes." Will told them, immediately headed for his Gibson SG and Les Paul. He needed to make sure both were tuned, and get warmed up.

A few minutes after getting warmed up Slade and Alyss walked through with the piano, looking a little frustrated.

"Where were you guys?" Steven asked.

"That damned security guard wouldn't let us in until I gave him a twenty!" Slade responded in his own kind of angry way.

Mick, Gilan and Steven were laughing quietly among themselves, trying not to laugh as loud as they'd like.

Slade looked at them in annoyance. "Yeah, we'll see how funny it is when you guys pay me back." He responded.

"Children, children." Will started. "We have like, eight minutes left. Get warmed up." Slade nodded and started singing a few songs to himself, getting his vocal chords ready for the two hours or so they would be playing.

Alyss plugged in her electric piano and started playing November Rain. Will shot his head up, getting an idea.

"Alyss, how would you feel if you played this instead of The Final Countdown? I don't think Slade has the vocals for it anyway." Will said, hoping she would accept.

She waited there for a moment in thought, trying to decide whether to accept or not.

"Well... I suppose I could." She said.

"Great. You'll know when to get onstage. Just be ready." Will said, getting excited.

* * *

The promoter was currently onstage, giving the band an introduction, while the band members felt a great sense of nervousness. None of them had ever played a concert this big, and as Will looked across, every inch was taken. Some people had a hard time moving. There were seats up high, and few weren't taken. He got ready with his Les Paul as the promoter was about done.

"So, without further introduction, Appetite For Destruction!" He yelled, immediately running offstage as the crowd cheered.

The guys walked onstage, their nervousness suddenly gone. There was suddenly an air of confidence around everyone, and as the crowd cheered on, they got more excited.

Steven got behind the drums which were on a higher platform than everybody else so everyone could see him, and he threw one of his drum sticks into the crowd as he once saw Steven Adler do in the beginning of a concert.

Will walked up to the mic, decided to say the first few words.

"Hey guys, guess what?" He started, walking away a little bit so Slade could finish.

"We're all gonna die!" Slade yelled, and Will immediately started the intro.

"Oooh... Shake it!" Slade yelled.

As Will went on with the main heavy riff, he did his own attempt at the duckwalk. He'd practiced it over and over again, and he'd finally gotten it down.

As he went on the crowd went wild. It was the moonwalk of Rock, and Will did it almost perfectly.

He smiled at the crowd. He knew the best part waited at the end of the show, but at the moment, this was the best night of his life.

* * *

The crowd cheered deafeningly as the song ended, telling the guys they'd done a good job. Will went to the side, in which one of the backstage people swapped his Les Paul with his SG. He smiled as to what was about to come. He was gonna play one of his favorite AC/DC songs, and he was going to enjoy it.

He went back to the mic, ready to start the song.

"This little AC/DC song has a special place in my heart, and I hope you'll share my love for it as you help us with the vocals." He said.

The crowd then heard a bell and immediately knew it was Hells Bells, causing them to cheer once again.

Will started the intro, loving every bit of it. It was definitely one of his favorite riffs to play. It was heavy, but it was a note oriented riff. Which was very unusual for AC/DC.

The song progressed and now everybody was playing their instruments, playing the heaviest part of the song.

"I'm a rolling thunder, I'm pouring rain!

I'm coming on like a hurricane!

My lightning's flashing, across the sky!

You're only young, but you're gonna die!

I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives.

Nobody's putting up a fight.

Got my bell, take you to hell!

I'm gonna get ya, Satan get ya!

Hells Bells!" Slade sang, everybody joining in as he said "Hells Bells".

"Yeah Hells Bells!

You got me ringing Hells Bells!

My temperature's high!

Hells Bells!" Everyone sang once again, the crowd joining in this time.

"I'll give you, black sensations, up and down your spine!

If you're into evil, you're a friend of mine!"

* * *

As the concert went on a few songs later, Will went back to the side to get his Les Paul again. He tested a power chord to see if the guy had tuned it right, and he was satisfied when it was.

He went to the left of Slade and simply looked at the crowd, waiting for Slade to talk into the microphone.

"We're now going to welcome a special person onto the stage. Please welcome our keyboardist, Alyss." He said, looking to the right where Alyss would go.

She walked out, headed for her piano which was off to the right side, trying to avoid eye contact with the crowd. She knew that if she did that she would feel an immense sense of nervousness. And that was the last thing she needed.

Will walked near her, encouraging her to start, and he smiled when she did.

The opening to November Rain was done by the piano only, and after twenty seconds or so, the drums would accompany her, but it would be a while before anything else other than the vocals did.

"When I look into your eyes, I can see a love restrained." Slade started.

But darlin' when I hold you, don't you know I feel the same?"

Nothin' lasts forever. And we both know hearts can change.

And it's hard to hold a candle, in the cold November Rain.

We've been through this such a long, long time just tryin' to kill the pain.

Lover's always come, and lover's always go, and no one's really sure whose letting go today.

Walking away.

If you could take the time, to lay it on the line, I could rest my head, just knowing that you were mine.

All mine.

If you wanna love me, than darlin' don't refrain.

Or I'll just end up walking, in the cold November Rain.

Do you need sometime, on your own?

Do you need sometime, all alone?

Ooh everybody needs sometime, on their own.

Ooh don't you know you need sometime, on your own?

I know it's hard to keep an open heart.

When even friends seem out to harm you.

But if you can heal a broken heart?

Wouldn't time be out to charm you?

Whoa oh oh, oh a oh."

Will started the solo. It was a soft Rock Ballad kind of solo, and it took a guy like Slash to create such a beautiful but complex solo.

The solo required hard bending, and as Will laid his guitar on his knee, making it virtually flat, and as he bent the G string with his head over the guitar, the string snapped, slashing Will's left cheek.

"Ow!" He screamed, stopping the solo, and consequently, the song.

Slade ran over to Will, Alyss not far behind, trying to remove Will's hand from his cheek so he could see it.

Will leaned over in pain. Guitar strings were very thin. Especially the higher ones. And the ends were razor sharp.

He removed his hand and Slade looked in pain at it.

The string went at least half an inch deep into his cheek, causing blood to run down.

"How's it look?" Will asked, squinting his eyes in pain.

Slade just looked at him for a moment. "Well, it's pretty deep and blood is everywhere..." He started, not wanting to say the words he had to say. "We'll probably have to end the concert."

Will looked at him as if he was the biggest idiot alive. "There's no way I'm doing that! Put a band aid over it or something. I'm playing." Will said persistently.

Slade looked at Alyss, having a look of question for her. "I think we should end the concert, Will." She said.

Will looked as if she had betrayed him somehow. "I'm not leaving and that's final." He said, walking towards the backstage guy.

"Give me the SG. I'm going to take the G string out of that one and putting it in this one." Will said, the guy obeying what he'd been told.

It didn't take a long time to change the strings. The Les Paul had a Stopbar Tailpiece that made more sustain and string changing easier. So Will wasn't worried about time.

He walked back, raising his right hand to the crowd.

"Start the song where I stopped." He told everybody, and they slowly obliged.

"Sometimes I need sometime, on my own.

Sometimes I need sometime, all alone.

Ooh everybody needs sometime, on their own.

Ooh, don't you know you need sometime, on your own?" Slade sang, and Will started the second solo, which, in his opinion, was better.

"But when your fears subside, and shadows still remain.

I know that you can love me, when there's no one left to blame.

So never mind the darkness.

We still can find a way.

'Cause nothin' lasts forever, even cold November Rain." Slade sang, and everybody got ready to start the highly proclaimed outro.

Alyss started playing the outro, Will accompanying her with his guitar.

He was playing the third and final solo. It took a different turn when you compared it to the rest of the song, which is why he loved it.

"Don't you think that you need somebody?

Don't you think that you need someone?

Everybody needs somebody.

You're not the only one." Everybody sang, the crowd accompanying them as they played.

As the song finally ended, the crowd cheered louder than ever before. The song was stopped for a few brief minutes, but the band pulled it off in the end.

Will hugged Alyss as she started her way offstage, and she embraced him back.

"You were great." He told her.

"You were great too. Just don't do anything that stupid again."

* * *

The band ended their second last song "Kickstart My Heart" and Will was ready to unleash what he'd made.

Mick turned off the distortion on his guitar and made it sound like an acoustic for the intro as Slade went to the mic.

"This last song, is a little song called, By The Sword."

Mick started the riff, as the crowd cheered.

With the horses that you ride,

And the feelings left inside,

Comes a time you need to leave all that behind,

Well they claim they'd like to know,

And they want to let you go,

And the people gather 'round for the last show.

Well there is a reward, to live and die by the sword.

Where they try to complicate you,

But you left it all behind.

All worldly possessions,

Are left for recollection.

And finally it's all gone."

Will started the very heavy part of the riff. It was a note based riff, but it was done in the lower frets.

"They're releasing all the hounds.

What is left can still be found.

When your up above you're feet,

You're on the ground.

Well there's some who choose run.

Following the setting sun.

And it seems the journey has just begun.

Well there is a reward,

To live and die by the sword!

Well they tried to complicate you.

But you left it all behind.

All worldly possessions,

Are left for recollections.

And finally it's gone."

Will played the current riff, but he immediately started the solo.

When the solo started, all the music except the drums stopped. It was a soft solo, but at the end it became harder, and incorporated everybody.

"Oh, With the horses that you ride,

And the feelings left inside,

Comes a time to leave it all behind.

Well there is a reward,

To live and die by the sword.

Well they try to complicate you,

But you left it all behind.

All the worldly possessions,

Are left for recollections,

And finally it's gone."

Will played the main heavy riff once again, Slade occasionally hitting high notes as he played.

As the song ended, everybody went beside each other, hanging their arms on one another, and holding their free hand up with either a guitar or drumstick.

The crowd cheered once again, and they departed from the stage, feeling a sense of pride to themselves. This was definitely the best concert they'd had, and they couldn't wait for the next concert.

* * *

**I have over SIX. THOUSAND. WORDS. In this one! Man, I'm good!**

** Jeez. My chapters just get longer, and longer, and longer, and longer. at this rate, before long I'll have chapters with ten thousand words...**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. For people that say things wouldn't go this fast, it did for Aerosmith. So... take that.**

**And also, about the guitar string, that actually happened one time. I forgot which band, but it is possible. Oh, I know it's not gonna seem possible, but Will isn't going to have a scare. I can't imagine Will having a scare. Well, I can, I just don't want people to have that image when they read this.**

**Anyways, I haven't done this in a long, long, time, but, for my old time fans, you know what time it is. **

**What is your favorite kind of guitar? Mine is definitely a Gibson Les Paul. And quickly behind it is a Gibson SG. I don't like Fender's. Why? Because they're so frickin' overrated. I just hate them. Everyone is like, "Fender's are the god's of solid body guitars!" But, in reality, the Gibson Les Paul was the first electric guitar. AND, they were the FIRST guitars to be known as the Lords Of Solid Body Guitars. I do realize there's some that are overpriced, but I can name tons of Gibson Les Pauls and SG's that aren't that expensive.**

**Besides, the greatest guitarists in the WORLD use Les Paul's/SG's. Slash, Zakk Wilde, Joe Perry, Angus Young, Tony Iommi, the guitarist for Dio, (His name escapes me) Adrian Smith, etc. I can only think of four great guitarists that use Fender's.  
**

**Anyways, review please. :)**

**P.S. Here's the links to the songs I mention in this chapter: **

.com/watch?v=vP2jJUukdbE (We're All Gonna Die)

.com/watch?v=GVWT4ddkhHo&feature=av2n (By The Sword)

.com/watch?v=SQ4a0vW0Y1o (November Rain)

.com/watch?v=B5SWxpExeV8 (Hells Bells)


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, last chapter, though it did gave me great joy, started much controversy. Mostly consisting between my friend and I's bickering. So, my warning to you is, don't say anything bad about the chapters unless you outweigh the bad with good. I DON'T take "constructive" criticism well. I just don't. Sorry if you review like that. Just, forget all that you know if you're going to review. :P**

**Now, there's been frequent questions on my whole Will/Alyss thing and why I have romance attached to almost all of my stories. Well, I have a bit of Alice Cooper in me. In the sense that I'm a sucker for romance. Alice Cooper has been married to the same woman for forty years. He's never been divorced, never cheated on her, etc. He loves her now more than ever. And he'll tell you all the time that he's a sucker for romance and he doesn't get why other guys have commitment problems and are afraid of marriage. I share the same feelings. I'm a sucker for romance. It'll be one of the main highlights of the story and there'll be some OC's that are woman in my story. Deal with it. If you're a "macho man" Than you can just skip it.  
**

**But anyways, guess what? The moment you've all been waiting for! TIME SKIP!**

**I don't know about you, but I've been wanting a time skip for a LONG time. And now it's finally happening. I'm going to skip one year. I can FINALLY make things go faster...  
**

**Just remember, I went through absolute HELL to write this. I typed in SO MANY versions and made SO MANY modifications. Be grateful for what you get no matter how much it sucks...**

**So, just remember, I go through hell to please you guys...**

**But, I'm also adding some nice spices to the story. Things have been going way too good. So, I thought I might add a little twists here and there...  
**

**P.S. In concerts, here's how it goes, because I'm getting tired of explaining who sang what and trying to figure out how to make the words long without making my grammar look horrible...  
**

**When Slade sings, it looks like this: **Thunder! **When the guys sing backup vocals, it looks like this: **_Thunder! _**When the crowd sings, it looks like the black print I'm using now. When Will, Steven, Gilan, Mick, AND the crowd sings, it'll look like this: **_Thunder_ **So, use your imagination on whether or not the band and the crowd are singing at the same time, because I'm not doing it any other way...**** When the entire band sings, Slade as well, it looks like this: _Thunder! _****If the next word is long, like, "Oooooooooooh." I'm going to make it look like this: **_Ooh. _**Meaning it's longer than that.** **Is everyone clear on this? I hope so because that's the best you're getting out of me...  
**

**

* * *

**"So it'll be a thirty concert tour?" Will asked Steven as he looked through all the locations that Steven mapped out.

That was one thing everybody loved about Steven, he'd been everywhere. And because of that he was an amazing band manager. Which everyone there could appreciate.

"Yeah. We'll go to Anaheim, then we'll go through Nevada, loop our way to Washington, and hit tours as we go down through California." Steven explained as Will nodded.

Everyone including Alyss was in The Gasworks. They were practicing, getting ready for their first official tour. From what they'd heard, it was going to be a big tour as well. The small shows would have about five hundred people, meaning things were finally taking off.

It was amazing how a band could spread so fast, Will thought. His Song By The Sword had become a sensation in the underground, and through that people would hear We're All Gonna Die, which was also a huge hit. He'd also made another song, Bang Your Head, which was his favorite of all his songs. But, he couldn't take all the credit. Eddie knew all the right people. He even knew a few producers and record labels that were going to be at a few shows, and he'd recommended the band to them. Meaning this could be more than just their first tour.

"The tour kicks off here, right?" Slade asked.

"Yeah, that's exactly right. I figured it would be complimentary to Eddie. He's done a lot of stuff for this band." Steven responded, and everyone agreed.

"Well, now that that's settled, I have a song in mind that I'd like to make. So, I'll be in the corner over there." Will said as he started walking off, Alyss following close behind.

Alyss and Will had become very close. So close that Will had given up drinking for her. But Alyss had made some rules, ones that were sometimes hard to follow. She had a no kissing and no close contact other than hugging rule. It was hard for Will at the start because he planned to do those things, but now that he'd gotten the hang of it, he had realized he would have it no other way.

Will grabbed his guitar and sat down, and thought up some lyrics. He remembered that Steven Tyler once said in an interview to make the chorus first. He knew what he wanted the song to be called, and what it was about. It would be the first song that had an actual meaning to it. By The Sword had a meaning, but it wasn't based off a true story.

"Hm..." He thought aloud.

"What are your thoughts?" Alyss asked as she took a seat. She already knew what the song was about. Will had told her the hour before and explained it to her, but he hadn't figured out any lyrics for it.

"I'm thinking up the chorus. I Hold On..." He started.

"What about, because I won't let go?" Alyss suggested, and Will shot his head towards her.

"Even though I know there's solitude below." Will said, finally getting a feel for it.

Will realized that writing was always frustrating, but it was much easier when you had someone like Alyss to help. It reminded him of when he once watched Behind The Music: Aerosmith, when Steven Tyler said that when he wrote the lyrics for Dude Looks Like A Lady, it was with another person and the frustration of writing was suddenly gone. It was more special in Will's case though, because he had someone he truly cared about to help write with him.

* * *

In an hour they had all the lyrics down, and Will was currently working on the intro.

"What about this?" Will asked Alyss, immediately starting to play.

Alyss listened to it for a moment, smiling.

"That's the best intro all day. Write it down." She said.

"It can also be the main riff. Which will make it a whole lot easier for me." Will said as Alyss agreed.

Will kept playing different ideas for what would come next and wrote them down, asking Alyss' opinions on them.

"I think the one you played just before was the best." Alyss said.

"I think so too." Will agreed, and wrote it down on the main tablature chart.

* * *

After an hour or more, they were finally done.

"Thanks. Things were a lot easier since you were there." Will told Alyss.

Alyss smiled and laughed a little bit. "All I did was give a few suggestions and opinions. You did all the work." She said.

"You did much more than you realize." Will said as he got up off the floor, offering Alyss a hand up.

"Whether I did a lot of work or not, let's go up and show the rest of the band." She said, dusting off her skirt.

That was like Alyss, Will thought. Working hard on a song, taking barely any credit, but still excited to show people the song. That was one thing he loved about her, and he hoped she never changed.

"Finally. I thought you guys would never be done. We've played the same songs a thousand times." Slade said.

"You can't tell me that you didn't get a thrill out of it." Will said as he walked up the steps.

"We did, I'm just saying we played them a lot." Slade said, a smile on his face.

Steven clicked his tongue. "Never satisfied..." He said, and everyone smiled.

"Yeah, well, we're done writing the lyrics and lead guitar. Start working on it."

* * *

After Will played it Steven looked a little puzzled.

"It's not as Hard Rock as I figured it would be." Steven said.

"What do you mean?" Will asked.

"Well... I grew up on band's like AC/DC. Where it's nothing _but_ Hard Rock. I'm not saying the song is bad, I'm just saying it's not what I expected."

Will now had a puzzled look himself. "Uh huh... So do you like it or not?" Will asked.

"Yes." Steven answered.

"That's all I needed to know." Will said.

* * *

After a few hours they were done doing the final touches to the song. Heading out shortly after. They were playing at The Gasworks the next day, which would kick off their very first tour. Will was excited about that, of course. It was his dream to have a tour. Even if he only had one in his entire life, it was going to be great. The only part he didn't like about it was the fact Alyss couldn't go. She had to do school, which always got in the way of everything. Will knew that the average person needed a high school diploma, but he wasn't the average person.

But the worst part of it all was she planned on going to college. Which would start more problems. He reasoned with her, telling her that she was a great author in the first place, and she didn't need to go to college. Especially the state college. He'd seen it before. It reminded him of Motley Crue's Carnival Of Sins tour, where all the girls stripped down and had sex in the mosh pit. People were making out in the bushes, some even half naked, drinking and smoking pot. Yes, he was definitely concerned that she was going there. But, he didn't give up hope yet. He planned on talking to her dad about it before she made the decision.

_Well, at least she'll see the first concert..._ Will thought absentmindedly as Steven parked the bus at their apartment building.

Will got up, leaving his guitars in the bus. The chances of someone actually breaking in the bus were slim, seeing as how Steven locked every window and had seven locks on the doors. If anyone broke in Will wouldn't be angry. He'd find the guy to find out how he pulled it off.

"Well, another successful day of Rock." Mick said.

"Yeah." Slade replied. "Definitely a good thing." He said as he followed Mick, Will and Steven out the front door.

"Hey guys, I need your opinion. I'm thinking of using my SG most of the time, seeing as how I'm in a huge AC/DC mood. Do you think I'm making a mistake?" He asked as he walked down the steps, jumping of the last, somehow managing to land on the ground without making any noise.

"I don't know how you do it." Steven said.

"Do what?" Will asked.

"Land on the ground without making any noise at all." Steven explained.

"It's 'cause he's so short." Gilan said jokingly. And it was true, he was only five foot eight. But it didn't bother him at all. Because Angus and Malcolm Young, in his mind the greatest guitarists of all time, were even _shorter_. So he didn't really care what anyone thought. Besides, five foot eight wasn't really that short anyway. It was just short compared to everyone else.

"Look at Angus and Malcolm Young. Big things come in short packages." Will replied.

Gilan smiled. "Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night..." He said, making Will laugh.

"Yeah, well, at least I don't stomp around like you over-sized elephants." Will replied.

"Hey, leave me out of this. I'm only a little bit taller than you." Mick said.

Steven sighed. Getting tired of everyone's bickering. "Use both. It'll be hard to get the same tones on songs like By The Sword with an SG unless you know how to totally rig it. And I don't." He said, reminding Will of his original question.

"Thank you for staying on top of the subject." Will said as he started walking towards the apartment building.

Everyone soon followed behind. Truth be told, none of them were that tall. The tallest of the group was Slade, and even then he was six foot two. And, to be far, Will wasn't even that short anyway. Everyone just liked to give him a hard time.

"What time is it?" Mick asked.

Slade looked at his watch, and raised his right eyebrow. "What do I get out of this if I tell you?" Slade asked, walking through the door.

Will looked down, hit his head with the palm of his hand and laughed quietly.

"The magic of life." Mick responded, using hand motions while he said it.

"Good enough. Ten." Slade responded, once again making Will shake his head.

"I think this is the first time since I was six that I was so tired I was willing to fall asleep. I just wish we didn't have to walk up seven floors of stairs." Mick said.

"You're not the only one. I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I could use some rest as well." Will agreed, coincidentally yawning right after.

"I'll probably watch VH1 Classic for a while. That Metal Show starts soon." Steven said.

"Thanks, Steven, now I have to stay up and watch it." Will said. **(1)**

* * *

The next day, everyone was getting ready. They were packing their clothes, and hauling their amps to the bus. Everyone was edgy. They'd done a lot of shows, but this would be a tour. And to them, simply being on a tour was better than any show they'd played.

Will carried his Les Paul in his right hand and his SG in his left. Over time, Will hadn't decided which guitar of his he liked more. His Les Paul had always been there with him, but his SG made the sounds of AC/DC. The problem he had with his Les Paul was the fact it was twelve pounds, compared to his three to four pound SG. After a while he decided that he would stop making it a competition and just call them equal. They were both better in their own rights.

The only thing he needed to buy for his SG was a case, and that was going to be easy to buy once he got the estimated fifty thousand dollars from the tour. He was going to have to split it, of course. But even then, He still had plenty of money in his pocket.

The thing Will was most excited about was going to be their last tour in San Francisco. It was going to be a stadium with ten thousand people in it. Which, he wasn't quite sure he was ready for, but, he wouldn't find out until he played there.

"Well, looks like we're ready to kick this thing off." Will said.

"What are we going to do for pictures?" Steven asked.

"Pictures? Sorry I forgot to capture these wonderful memories mom." Slade said.

Steven simply glared at him. "Have you ever watched Behind The Music?" He asked.

"Yeah. Thousands of times." Slade answered, wondering where Steven was going with this.

"Than you'd know they all had thousands of pictures. What would Behind The Music would've done if they had none?" Steven asked, not surprised when Slade had no response. "Exactly. It's important to take pictures."

"Whatever..." Slade said.

"Alyss was going to lend me her camera, actually. She's going to take pictures of us tonight." Will said.

"Oh, cool." Steven said.

"Alright ladies, we're ready to go." Mick said as he walked out of his room with his bag.

"Let's get this show on the road then." Gilan said, walking out of his room right after.

* * *

Everyone was getting warmed up in a private room. Gilan was playing a simple G on his black Fender Bass, which was usually how he started a warm up. He'd always loved the bass. At first he started out with a regular guitar, but in order to stop he and Will's fighting over who was to play lead in the band, he'd decided many years ago to sell his guitar and buy a bass. It was definitely the right choice. It stopped the fighting, and he found he enjoyed playing it more than a regular guitar. Something Will never got.

But, whether Will understood it or not, he didn't care. The bass was his passion, and he almost never put it down.

After twenty minutes or so, they heard the crowd cheering, telling the guys that the band before them was finished. And it was their turn. Everybody felt it; that jolt of energy that they always got before a show. It made them feel like they could do a backflip. But, in order to not cancel the show, and more importantly, the entire tour, they withheld themselves from doing things that they knew they were unable to do.

They started walking down the hall when Eddie walked up.

"Alright guys. Let's give them what they came here for." He said. He was truly excited for the band. He was always taking care of the band, and making sure they got to the right people. So much in fact that the band would sometimes jokingly call him dad.

"Not a problem for me." Will said as he slightly smiled at Eddie.

Eddie walked with them as they emerged from the back room into the left side of the main room where some of the crowd was.

"Excuse me, coming through." Eddie said as he escorted the guys through the sea of people. The place was packed, and it was nearly impossible to get to the stage. But they'd somehow made it there.

"I don't believe you guys need any introduction." Eddie said as he stopped at the stairs.

"I don't either. Thanks again Eddie." Gilan said as he followed Will up the stairs.

_Not surprising he was the first up there..._ He thought. Will was the founder of the band. Therefore he was to be most excited about everything and was the person who put in the most effort. Gilan was, of course, the co-founder, but Will was the person who suggested the idea that they simply played instruments, let alone play in a band together.

The crowd cheered as they all got on the stage. It was rather uncomfortable to be on the small stage. It wasn't so small that Will couldn't do the duckwalk, but in order to do that Mick and Gilan were most likely going to be accompanying Steven on the steps of the drum platform. Which didn't bother them. They were more sit in the corner people as opposed to Will and Slade's outgoing approach on the stage.

Will tested his hands for a moment, looking downward at his SG and hands, praying to God that he didn't mess up the beginning of the song. He was warmed up, but it was rare that he did the intro perfectly with only thirty minutes of warm up time.

Nevertheless, he was giving it a shot.

The crowd's cheering tuned down to a deafening silence, and Will realized it was time to start the song. And in a mere moment, he started playing Thunderstruck. Steven accompanying him.

"Are you ready to do some singing tonight?" Slade asked the crowd, satisfied with the response.

"Oh whoa oh, whoa oh oh." Slade started, motioning the crowd to join him with his hands.

_"Thunder!"_ The guys said in between.

**"Oh whoa oh, whoa oh oh." **

_"Thunder!"_ This went on for about thirty seconds before Slade motioned for the crowd to stop.

"I was caught, in the middle of the railroad tracks."

_"Thunder!" _

"I looked 'round, and I knew there was no turning back."

_"Thunder!"_

"My mind raced, and I thought, what could I do?"

_"Thunder!"_

"And I knew, there was no help, no help from you."

_"Thunder!"_

"Sound of the drums, the beatin' in my heart.

The thunder of guns, yeah, tore me apart.

You've been... Thunderstruck!" He screamed, relieving Will because his hand would no longer have to cramp by playing the insane riff that was Thunderstruck.

"Out on the highway, broke the limit, we hit the _top._

Went through to Texas, yeah Texas, and we had some fun.

We met some girls, some girls who gave a good _time._

Broke all the rules, played all the fools._  
_

Yeah yeah they, they, they blew our _minds._

You've been... Thunderstruck!" He yelled once again. Will played the heavy riff that went with the chorus, jumping up and down, cursing himself when he made a slight but unnoticeable mistake.

"Thunderstruck! Yeah, yeah, yeah, Thunderstruck!

Ooh, Thunderstruck.

And I was shakin' at the knees, could I come again please?"

Will started the solo, doing the duckwalk for the first part of it. ending it with rocking his head back and forth as he walked back towards the drum platform.

"_**Whoa whoa, whoa oh oh." **_

_**"Whoa whoa, whoa oh oh."**_

"_**Whoa whoa, whoa oh oh." **_

_**"Whoa whoa, whoa oh oh."**_

_****__**"Thunderstruck!**_

_****__**Thunderstruck!"**_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah,"

_**"Thunderstruck!"**_

**_Thunderstruck!_**

**_Yeah, __it's alright._**

**_We're, doin' fine._**

**_Thunderstruck!"_**

"Thunderstruck!"

_"Thunderstruck!_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah Thunderstruck!"

_"Thunderstruck!_

"Thunderstruck! Oh you've been Thunderstruck..."

* * *

Five songs after, they were playing Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. They'd already played songs like We're All Gonna Die, Bang Your Head and By The Sword. They didn't plan on playing the newest song until the very last show so it would be more focused on covers, and so far, the crowd was loving it.

"Dirty Deeds,"

_**"Done Dirt Cheap!" **_

"Oh Dirty Deeds,"

**_"Done Dirt Cheap!"_**

"Dirty Deeds,"

_**"Done Dirt Cheap!" **_

"Oh,"

_"Dirty Deeds and uh Done Dirt Cheap. Dirty Deeds and uh Done Dirt Cheap." _Will sang in a low growl-like voice, similar to Angus Young.

* * *

It was the last song of the night. They'd played a mind blowing two and a half hour show. They were all sweating, and Steven had gone through five drum sticks by now. As much as they enjoyed the show, they were exhausted. And they were currently ending the show with AC/DC's For Those About To Rock We Salute You.

As Will ended the mid-solo, Slade walked back up to the microphone.

"For those about to rock..." He sang as everything got quiet.

"Fire!" He yelled, and everyone heard a cannon firing off by a machine they'd bought for the show.

_"We salute you!" _

"Oh, for those about to rock... Fire!"

**"We salute you!"**

Will played a chord, almost immediately putting his hand over his SG's strings to stop it.

"... Fire!"

**_"We, salute, you!"_**

**_

* * *

_**Steven drove the tour bus, laughing at the joke Mick had just told. They'd just loaded the last of their gear onto the bus twenty minutes ago. After the show they almost immediately headed towards Aneheim, Which would be a good three hours. After that, they'd sleep in the very back room with the bunk beds. In the meantime, they'd stay up with Steven and make sure he didn't fall asleep behind the wheel. Telling jokes and having a good time. However, Will's thoughts wandered elsewhere.

He thought of what happened after the show with Alyss at the roof of The Gasworks.

_Will walked towards Alyss. She was right by the window, looking down upon the lower room where everyon_e _was at._

_"Hey." He said as he approached her._

_She smiled back, approaching him slowly. "Hey." She said, hugging him immediately.  
_

_He held her in his arms, shocked as always at how amazing her hair smelled. _

_"Will, have a good time. I'll see you when you get back." She said._

_Will looked at her, a small smile on his face. "How could there be a good time when you're not around?" _

_She smiled back and pulled his left arm in mock anger. "Come on, Will. I'm being serious." She said, slightly laughing._

_"I am too." He said._

_She stood there for a moment, trying to think of something to say. "I wish I could go. But, I just can't. If I'm even one minute late for a class and my dad finds out he's disappointed with me. Two months of missing school would give him a heart attack." _

_"I know. Don't study too hard though." He replied._

_Alyss thought about it for a moment. Two months without Will was going to be hard. They would see each other almost every day, and when they didn't they at least called each other on the phone. Will wouldn't be able to call her except on a phone booth, which, became more and more rare as cell phones advanced._

_"I wish I could stay longer, but the guys are waiting, and it'll be a good three hours to get there." Will said, and she nodded._

_"Okay. Goodbye Will." She said as they embraced each other once more._

_Will started to walk away, but Alyss grabbed his arm._

_She grabbed his collar and slowly pulled him closer. Their noses touched, and she could feel her skin tingling as he lightly breathed on it. Their lips lightly touched each other. Will was in shock, but he immediately recovered, and slowly wrapped his arms around her. _

_After what seemed an eternity in heaven, they slowly pulled away and looked into each others eyes._

_Neither knew what to say. They were both in shock, and couldn't believe what just happened._

_"Goodbye..." Alyss said finally. Wishing she could go with him._

_"Bye..." He responded, suddenly losing all excitement for the tour._

Will could still feel the softness of her lips. He couldn't believe it happened, even now. But even if this was some sort of sick dream, he was still happy.

"Will, you've been acting weird." Gilan said, shaking Will back into reality.

"What? No I haven't." He said abruptly, simply proving Gilan's point.

"I think," Steven started. "That something happened with him and Alyss."

Will looked at him and simply shook his head.

"What if I told you that I saw you two kissing?" Slade said.

"What? That's ridiculous! You know she has rules about that." He said, making a futile attempt to save himself of the never ending embarrassment that would come throughout the entire tour.

"Yeah. Besides, she's a good girl. I don't think she's one for kissing really." Mick said.

"The angels are always the wild ones." Slade said. "Besides, you're acting like kissing is compared to them doing it. It's just a kiss. It doesn't really mean anything."

But Will looked at him like he'd just said AC/DC wasn't good compared to Lady Gaga. "Are you kidding me? Maybe not to people such as yourself who were born with no souls, but to us regular people it means something special." Will said in defense.

"Aha! I knew you'd say that! Proving my point." Slade concluded.

But Will just looked at him in the same face. "No, actually. It just means you have no soul." He said.

"Will, I'm afraid I have to side with Slade for once." Steven started. Which Will responded to by giving him a look of betrayal. But Steven was quick to react. "Don't look at me like I just kicked a puppy, Will. Just wrap your head around my points here." Steven started. "You have the most dazed look I've ever seen you have, you're not paying attention or laughing to jokes you'd usually laugh at, and you don't seem to be too happy to be on the bus. Which all lead to kissing Alyss." He explained, sometimes not paying as much attention to the road than he should've.

Will sighed in defeat. Knowing Steven was very quick on his feat at all times. "We had to recruit the smart one..." He said, finally giving in.

"Aha! Liar..." Slade exclaimed.

Gilan wrapped his arm around Slade, sighing. "Our little boy's finally become a man..." He said, making Will a little mad.

"At least I'm the only one here who's had a successful relationship except for maybe Steven..."

But the remark didn't really faze Slade. "I was never a man for romance like the teenage love puppy here seems to be. I was too busy scoring with chicks."

"Slade, at which point in life did you sell your soul to the devil?" Steven asked.

"I think it was the first time I watched Motley Crue's Girls Girls Girls video, actually. So, if memory serves right, fifth grade." He answered.

"Oh." Steven immediately said softly as he nodded.

"Well, whether he has a soul or not doesn't matter. Let's just get off the subject." Steven said. He knew how his friend felt about Alyss. He noticed how his attitude changed when she was around. He'd go from being a rock star to some nice gentleman when she was around. And he knew that she knew that. He knew that Alyss had gotten the impression that Will believed she wouldn't like the real him. But, in reality, it was the real him she fell in love with. He just hadn't realized that quite yet.

"Oh, come on. It's not like this was his first kiss or anything." Slade said, but was surprised by the fact Will didn't respond. "Was it?" He asked.

Will looked at him, sighing in annoyance. "Yes, it was. Can we please just stop talking about it? It was _private _for a reason." He said with a tone he'd never used before.

"Whoa. Sorry if I was offensive or anything." Slade said, using quotation marks when he said offensive.

Will sighed as he got up, walking to the bunk beds in the very back.

"Oh, _come on_ Will. Seriously?" Slade said, sighing himself.

_It was a special, private moment, that I wanted to remember fondly. But it's lost it's original two elements of special and private now... _Will thought as he got up on the top bunk. He laid down on it, noting that even though the mattresses were small and somewhat thinner than usual beds, they were still comfortable.

* * *

"Dude, I said that we should get off the subject because I knew he'd get mad after a while. Why'd you keep pushing on it?" Steven asked in a somewhat more raised tone than usual.

"How was I supposed to know that he'd go insane by it?" Slade asked, using a sudden argue-like voice he'd never used before.

"Because it was a _special_ moment for him, and I gave you hints." Steven shot back.

Mick and Gilan rolled their eyes, getting tired of all the arguing.

"Why was it so special? It was _just a kiss_." Slade shot back.

"Because he plans to marry her!" Steven yelled, immediately cursing himself in his head. _Damn, damn, damn it all..._

"_What?_" Everyone exclaimed.

"Crud... _Don't_ tell him I told you. He told me last week and said he'd kill me if I told anyone..." Steven sighed, wishing that he didn't accidentally blurt out the big secret.

"I have a question," Gilan started. "Why is it that he tells the guy he's known for twelve months instead of his _childhood friend_!" Gilan said, yelling at the end.

"Because you'd tell everyone and make fun of him, that's why!"

"Yeah, because you didn't tell a fricking fly!" Gilan yelled.

"It was an accident because _you guys _act as if this was a quick fling he's doing to get laid!" Steven shot back, remembering to sometimes look at the road and not Gilan.

"I don't get why he even wants to get married! He's eighteen! He should live up his young life having one night stands, like I do!" Gilan yelled.

"See, _that,_ is one of the reasons he didn't tell you." Steven started, pointing his finger at Gilan when he said "that". "You've been childhood friends and you don't know a damn thing about him. If you _really_ knew him, you'd know that he's always wanted a wife since he was five. And that he's a total sucker for romance. And, you'd at _least_ know that his plan was always to get married early. I've only been friends with him for _twelve months_ and I already know more about him than you do!" Steven yelled, re-adjusting his hat and moving in his seat to maybe help get rid of some of the stress. But, of course, it didn't work.

"I didn't talk to him about that stuff because unlike him, I'm _not_ a total sissy who's been dreaming of the _perfect wife_ ever since I was five!" Gilan yelled back, getting up in anger.

"Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, he's always been mature?" Steven asked, not yelling for once. "Besides, he was going to have _you_ as the best man, but, seeing as how you're too busy skanking around Los Angeles, and yelling at me for nothing, it might not happen." Steven said, immediately shaking his head and getting back to the wheel.

Gilan just stayed quiet and walked to the very back of the long leather couch and laid down on it. He was angry. At everything. Even himself. But he was especially angry at his so called "best friend" Will.

* * *

"One damn night and everybody's already mad at each other?" Mick asked in bewilderment.

"That would be the situation, yes." Steven answered. He wasn't mad at Steven anymore, which was good. Steven was never one to hold a grudge for too long though. So it didn't surprise anybody.

"What do we do? It's going to be a long two months with everyone hating each other." Slade said.

"I don't know. Everything will probably be better with Will though. He loses grudges and anger very fast. So don't worry about him too much. It's just Gilan you should worry about." Steven said, and everyone nodded.

"Well, I suppose we'll go to bed. It might be a long day tomorrow." Mick said, getting up and leaving, with Slade following behind.

"Okay. See you in the morning." Steven said, but looked back quickly as they reached the bunk beds. "Wait! You were supposed to keep me awake!" He called, trying to get their attention.

"Drink some coffee." He heard Slade say and simply shook his head.

_Well... So much for everyone helping me stay up... _He thought as he turned on Classic Rock Nights with Eddie Webb._  
_

_

* * *

_Will's eyes slowly opened. He stretched out, yawning shortly after. He slowly got up, resting his feet over the edge. He dropped down onto the soft white carpet, and put his shoes and shirt on. He slowly walked out of the small room with all the bunk beds and squinted his eyes at the light. He walked to the small fridge and grabbed a can of Cherry Coke. Ever since he promised Alyss he'd stop drinking, he'd found a drink that was even better. He loved it so much that he'd sometimes say he'd switched addicting drinks.

He sighed as he sat down on the couch. He wasn't angry at Slade anymore, which he knew would happen. He didn't want to be mad at him, Slade was the voice of the band. And he'd become a good friend. Yes, he was somewhat oblivious to feelings, but he was still a good friend nonetheless.

He sighed again, hoping that Slade wouldn't still be angry. Slade was just as easy-going and laid back as he was, so he figured that he wouldn't be mad. But, still, it was something to worry about.

He had a drink of his Cherry Coke and immediately put it down. There was a different air to the bus. And he didn't like it. He looked left and saw Gilan on the couch. _That's weird... _He thought. He got up and walked over to him. He shook his shoulder, wondering what happened.

"Gilan? Gilan, wake up." He said, lightly slapping Gilan's face.

Gilan opened his eyes, becoming alert. Will smiled a bit, but his smile faded once Gilan gave him a cold look.

He got up and walked past Will. It concerned Will to great lengths, and he wanted to know what was wrong.

"Good morning Gilan." He said experimentally.

"Backstabber..." He heard Gilan say quietly.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

Gilan turned around and gave him an even colder look. "I said you were a backstabber." He said loudly, but technically not yelling.

"What are you talking about?" Will asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." He replied.

"It's obviously something." Will said.

"Way to follow the trail Sherlock."

"Gilan, if there's a problem, tell me. If there's not, than stop acting like a jackass." Will said, surprising Gilan.

"Oh, finally found some creative language? Interesting." Gilan said, making Will angrier and angrier.

"Quit it." Steven said as he walked towards them.

Gilan looked at him. "Oh, here you go Will. It's your best friend." He said in anger.

"Best friend? What are you talking about?" Will asked in confusion.

Steven sighed in his head. He knew Gilan was going to tell Will that he knew. And when he did he was afraid that Will would be extremely angry.

"I've been replaced by him. Everybody knows." Gilan explained angrily.

"You're both my best friends. Why do you think I like him more?" Will asked.

"Well, if you can tell him that you're going to marry Alyss and not me it's obvious you like him more." Gilan said finally.

Will was in shock. He looked at Steven as Steven sighed, getting ready to explain.

"It was a complete accident." He started. "Last night when you went to bed Slade and I were arguing and, it accidentally slipped out. Please don't be mad." He said, trying to save himself out of this one.

Will sighed, deciding to do what was right. "It's okay. Don't worry about it." He said in a forgiving voice. "But why do you think I like him more just because I told him and not you? I just figured you didn't want to hear about it. Whenever I would bring something up like this you'd get angry or ignore me." He told Gilan.

"So? I'd like still like to know if you're going to get married!" Gilan yelled.

"Than tell me that! How was I supposed to know?" Will said. "Besides, there's more to this." He said right after.

"No, there's not. Shut up and stop talking like a girl."

Will and Steven just shook their heads and gave sighs of exasperation. "Whatever. Just stop being in such a bad mood." Will said, and Gilan did actually shut up. Making Will happy.

* * *

**How was THAT for a chapter and plot twist? Yeah, well, I just decided that it'd been a whole year so, I figured I might as well make things start happening.**

**So, the last chapter was six thousand words, and this one is seven thousand. I feel very proud of myself...**

**(1) Don't you just love That Metal Show? It's definitely one of my favorite shows on the planet. There's nothing like watching three metal losers with no lives interviewing rock stars and showing the world you don't need an education to get successful. You just need to be damn lucky is all...**

**Anyways, Since there was no answers to my question last time, I will only do this one more time. If it doesn't catch on, it was not meant to be...**

**Who's your favorite character in this particular story? I'm really starting to like Steven. I feel that I can do a lot with him. My least favorite is probably Gilan. I mean, I love Gilan in the real books. but in my story, I don't know. I just don't like to use him that much. And when I do you get this chapter. **

**Here are the links to all the songs I mentioned in this story: **

.com/watch?v=vJChh7ghGnE (Quiet Riot Bang Your Head)

.com/watch?v=-f1cwycSWq0 (AC/DC Thunderstruck)

.com/watch?v=fvP0uwl3Q6A (AC/DC Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap)

.com/watch?v=F8UYGQeavRw (Motley Crue Kickstart My Heart. The song I forgot to give a link to last chapter)

.com/watch?v=xMUgmU_Hsjc (AC/DC For Those About To Rock We Salute You)

**Anyways, read, review, answer, give tips, give ideas for the next chapter, mention awesome songs you'd like to be in the story, whatever you feel will fill your hole of a life. :P  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend, Rowana Renee. Ever since she's been on here she's been the nicest person to me. And now, she's done the nicest thing for me by publicly humiliating me in her story and lying to everybody by saying I'm the unsung hero on here and I'm the nicest person ever. _Nobody _has EVER mentioned me in their story on a nice note. Nobody would even think of doing that for me. My sister wouldn't even do that. So, to Rowana Renee, I thank you for everything. You make me laugh, you make me smile, you make me feel as if I'm the greatest person alive. I look forward to many years of good friendship and laughs. Now, I just need to find out your birthday and do something for you this time... ;P  
**

**Well, now that my mission for the day is over, onto the less important stuff. The last chapter was great if you ask me. It didn't hit the response I was hoping for,**** but, the thing about this is that you need to keep pushing and pushing. To quote Guns N' Roses: "Rags to riches or so they say you gotta, keep pushing for the fortune and fame." Eventually, this'll hit popularity. And, worst case scenario, I've made a nice story for me to read in the end and give me inspiration to make songs and stories.**

**Anyways, I got a new guitar. I lied two chapters ago. I went with an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top in a vintage sunburst finish. It looks awesome, I love it. Plus, it sounds great and feels amazing. The sustain is endless and because of that I'm able to do hammer-ons and pull-offs like never before. I love the Classic Alnico Humbuckers and the Grover tuners especially. I'm eventually going to get a Gibson SG in a black finish of course, but for now this is a great guitar to get me where I'm headed. I'd recommend the guitar to anybody who wants a good intermediate guitar at an amazing price. I got mine from a friend so it was only 379$ compared to it's usual 550$, but even then, 550$ versus over twenty five hundred is a heck of a price if you ask me.**

**By the way, when I said Will was five foot eight in the last chapter, it was a typo. I meant five foot six, so, yeah...  
**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter.  
**

**

* * *

**Later that day, they were all headed towards Steven's parents' house. Will was still mad at Gilan. He was never one to hold grudges or stay mad, but Gilan's behavior drove him crazy. He'd spent the entire day making juvenile comments about everything. From Will to Steven, to even Mick and Slade who had nothing to do with it.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be, Will thought. It was supposed to be a fun tour, where everyone had a good time and played Rock N' Roll. Will even had a name for it; the Wake The Dead Tour. Most fans he'd talked to figured he was talking about making the music loud, but the name implied waking America up and showing them what real music was. Music that wasn't sung by a little boy who skipped puberty and his voice didn't deepen.

The tour was nothing anybody wanted it to be. Everyone was annoyed at Gilan, just like Gilan was annoyed at them. Will tried to explain to him he saw each and every one of them equal in friendship, but that wasn't enough for him. No, Gilan wanted to be the greatest of them all for some reason, and it just split the group up more and more. All morning the more comments he made the more everyone didn't like him. He was becoming like Allan, and that was what annoyed everyone the most.

Will had asked if Steven knew who Allan was, and he said yes. Apparently one time they'd gotten in a bit of a fight at The Gasworks, which didn't surprise any of them at all. Allan was a selfish person who didn't care about people's feelings or what was going on, which caused him to be quite the fighter.

Will sighed, the biggest reason Gilan was here now was because he was an amazing bassist. He was unmatched. A regular Steve Harris of his day, and that wasn't something you passed just because he was annoyed at you. Will would somehow find a way, he knew. It was just a matter of dirty comments and dirty looks away.

* * *

Steven couldn't help but smile as he drove his bus down the street where his house was. He was very close to his family, and coming home, even for a little bit, was always fun.

Slade looked at Steven's house and his jaw dropped down a bit. "Steven, you never told me your parents were dirty rich." He said.

The house was three stories, and it had a brown brick finish with a large green yard. It was stunning, and nobody expected it to look like this.

Steven looked back for a moment. "Why do you think I have a fancy RV and a top of the line drum set that's so big it goes around me in a circle?" He asked.

"I never thought of it. I just knew you had the skill and the equipment that made you a keeper." Slade responded.

Steven slowed down as he turned left a little bit to give him room to pull into the driveway. Turning right into the driveway they saw two young black cats run in front of the garage, waiting for people to come pet them. **(1)**

Steven pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened the door, getting up and following everyone out.

One of the cats walked up to Steven and he bent down.

"It's been a while hasn't it?" He said as he picked it up and petted it.

This was a side nobody expected of Steven. He was a happy go lucky guy, but he'd never shown affection to anything. And it shocked everyone to say the least.

He looked up from the cat in his arms and saw that they were all staring at him. "I love animals." He explained, and everyone nodded.

He put the cat down and started walking down the sidewalk that went up to the front of the house. As he walked up to the front door, he stopped for a moment, and took a deep breath, everyone close behind. It had been nine months since he'd last seen his family, and he was glad he was finally home.

He grabbed the door knob and twisted it, pushing the door and took one step inside. He looked around and saw his dog, a golden retriever named Axl, jump up from the couch and run towards him as he barked. Steven smiled and went to his knees. Axl jumped up and put his paws on Steven's shoulders with all the force he'd gained from running, knocking Steven down on his back with a one hundred pound dog on his chest. He laughed as Axl licked his face. He tried to pull the dog off him, but the dog was resistant and stayed there.

"Axl, you over-sized oaf!" Steven laughed as he rubbed his dog's head lovingly. He turned to the side, throwing Axl off balance and forcing him to get off his chest.

He got up as his dog went to visit the others. He looked to his right as he heard trampling down the stairs, and instinctively knew what it was.

He smiled as he walked towards the stairs, re-adjusting his Guns N' Roses hat. He soon saw three people running down, smiling as they looked at him.

"Steven!" His fifteen year old sister yelled as she ran down the stairs and hugged him tightly, his other sister and brother quickly following behind to join in on the hug.

His sister looked up at his face for a moment and punched him in the gut. He bent down in pain, trying to find breath. "What took you so long?" She asked, her frown becoming a smile again.

"I suppose it has been a while." He breathed, still trying to regain breath.

Will coughed behind him, reminding Steven that there were other people there.

"Oh, right." He said. "This is my younger brother James, and these are my younger sisters Alyssa and Mackenzie. Guys, this is Will, Slade, Mick, and Gi-" He stopped himself. "Where's Gilan?" He asked.

"In the bus I assume." Will answered as Steven sighed, looking back at his siblings.

"Where's mom and dad?" He asked.

"I think they're in the hot tub." Alyssa said.

"Well, go get them. Mom and dad have been calling me all the time and telling me to come down." He said, James nodding and running towards the back patio.

"Oh, don't tell them we're here though. Just tell them there's an emergency." He added and James nodded again.

"Well, what have you guys been up to since the last time I was here?" Steven asked as he headed towards the kitchen to get a Cherry Coke from the fridge.

"Nothing really for me. Just doing school and hanging out with friends." Mackenzie said and Steven nodded as he grabbed a Cherry Coke and opened it, taking a long satisfying drink of it.

"I see. And what about you Alyssa?" He asked, taking another drink.

"Well, I got a boyfrien-" She started but was cut short by Steven coughing up his drink.

"_What_?" He asked.

"I... got a boyfrie-"

"It was a rhetorical question I didn't really mean it." Steven responded, cutting her off. "So, when will I meet this dashing young man?" He asked, noticing the guys chuckling quietly, putting their hands in front of their faces trying not to laugh.

"I don't know." She answered.

"Uh huh. And, when exactly did this happen?" He asked.

"Last week..." She responded quietly.

"You realize I'm twenty and I haven't even had a girlfriend yet, right?" He questioned.

"Yes..." She responded quietly again.

"Than, why do you feel you need to date?" He questioned again.

"Because..." She started and Steven rolled his hands.

"Because...?" He continued.

"I don't know, I just felt like it..." She said, but Steven was unimpressed.

"You know, one time I wanted to shoot roman missiles at the house because I 'felt like it'. Do you know what happened?" He asked.

"I have an idea..." She answered quietly.

"I had to put out a fire and do extra chores for two months, that's what happened." He explained.

"What does this have to do with dating?" She asked.

"Everything." He answered quickly. "Now, if you _truly_ like this boy, you'll tell him you can't date or even be within three feet of each other until your fifty six, do you hear me?"

"Yes..." She sighed.

"Good." He said, but he looked towards the hallway where he heard noise and ran behind the wall, sneaking around through the TV room to get behind his parents.

"What are you do-"

"Shh!" He whispered fiercely as Axl quickly followed behind him like he always did.

Everyone saw James and Steven's parents appear and they looked in surprise at three mysterious guys in the living room.

"May I help you?" The father asked.

"Uh..." Will started and immediately saw Steven sneak up behind his parents.

"They're with me." Steven said as he hung his arms over his parents shoulders, surprising them.

His mother was quick to react though, and gave him a tight hug.

"Mom... I can't breath..." He said, trying to push her away.

"Why didn't you come any sooner?" She asked in a demanding voice as she pulled away.

"My schedule has been very hectic and busy." He said.

"Too hectic and busy for your own mother? There's no such thing!" She scolded.

"Don't listen to her, son. She'd be angry if you didn't come home for the weekend if you were at war." His father said.

* * *

After a few hours when everyone was well acquainted, they were all in the backyard, having drinks, sharing laughs, and playing football as Steven's father, Ray, was grilling chicken. Alyssa was looking in interest at her brother getting tackled by one of his band members. She'd never figured he'd actually join a band. A popular one at that. She'd always figured it was a faze he'd eventually grow out of, and that he was just joking around when he told them over two years ago that he was leaving to join a band. She'd never seen him as a guy who would play in a band. But, then again, she couldn't see him as a guy doing anything. So she was just happy that he was doing something with his life.

"No fair!" Steven laughed as Axl, excited by all the movement, jumped on him from behind, allowing Will to steal the ball.

Will walked back towards Steven and Axl, a grin on his face. "Good boy." He said as he handed Steven the ball.

Steven looked at Axl, shaking his head. "Traitor..." He said quietly.

"Time to eat." Ray called, a hot plate of grilled chicken in his hands.

Everyone moved towards the table on the back patio, talking amongst themselves. They'd enjoyed the day a lot. Steven wasn't lying when he said his schedule was hectic. They'd spent every hour of every day practicing, writing, planning, making logos, anything that involved the band. It was a lot harder than the average person figured, but, that's how it had to be. Everything looked like an easy job when you didn't have to do it.

They all took their seats at the round table, passing each other plates of food and drinks. It was unlike anything Will had ever experienced. It was a real family. He'd made jokes earlier, saying that since now he'd only read about them, but he was somewhat serious. The families he was used to weren't happy ones. He was in no way against religion, he was just against his old Pentecostal church. **(2)**

"So Will, tell us about yourself." Steven's mother, Mary, said.

Will adjusted himself in his seat a little, a little thrown off by the question. "Well," He started. "There's not a whole lot to tell. I was born and raised in Lafayette Indiana. When I was seventeen I moved here and started a band. That's basically it." He said, buttering things up a bit.

"Wait, if you left when you were seventeen, does that mean you didn't finish high school?" Jason asked.

"Yeah." Will answered. Unlike a lot of high school dropouts, he wasn't ashamed of it. He was getting more and more successful each day, and he didn't need what people said was an essential part of American society.

"Dad says people who don't finish high school are-" Jason started, but Ray stopped him in his tracks, making Will laugh a bit.

"Whatever he says, it's probably true for most people." Will said.

"So Will," Mary started. "Anything else? What do you like to do? What's your family like? Do you go to a church?" She asked, and Will couldn't help but get a bit nervous.

"Well..." He said nervously, looking at Steven for a bit of help. "I used to teach Sunday School and sing in choir at my old Pentecostal church. As hobbies, I was never really into sports. Today is as close as I get to them. I basically just like to play guitar. I've always really been into guitar. I remember when I was younger my childhood friend Gilan and I would play music on his porch, and the other kids would come around and listen to us." He said, praying to God nobody asked him about his family. But God wasn't listening.

"What about your family?" Jason asked.

Will suddenly got more nervous than before. "I... Well... It's a long story..." He said. He wasn't depressed like he used to get. He was more nervous about what Steven's family would think. They were the closest thing he had to a family. He didn't want them to think he was a weird, no life and no family freak.

"That's okay." Jason said, almost making Steven smack himself in the head. Jason was only ten, so he didn't pick up hints and read people, but Steven wished he could at least take an obvious hint.

"Well, I'm an only child, if that's what you'd like to know." Will said, leaving a bigger hint than before.

Even Steven's father, a man people would always joke about and would say couldn't take a hint, was getting the hints. And he gave Jason a look that told him to stop asking. And once Jason saw him, he knew not to ask. But Mackenzie, a thirteen year old girl, somehow forgot all her manners.

"Are you saying you grew up in a broken house?" She asked, immediately regretting it once she got looks from all around the table except from Mick and Slade, who were too busy trying to quiet down their laughter.

"_Mackenzie._" Mary whispered fiercely.

"No no, it's okay." Will said. He couldn't help but laugh a little on the inside. "Yeah, somewhat." He answered, all nervousness suddenly gone.

"Okay. What about you Slade?" Mary asked, trying to make people forget what was just said.

Unlike Will, Slade stayed in his leaned back position, finally done laughing. "The details of my life are quite inconsequential... very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving pub owner in Scotland with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old Polish prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink. He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy. The sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical. Summers in Rangoon, singing lessons, in the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds- pretty standard really." He said, making Will and Mick look at each other as they raised their right eyebrows. "During my teen years I worked with my mom at a gas station and spent all the money I made on prostitutes- something that proves the apple doesn't fall far from the tree I suppose." He added. "When I was seventeen my father decided to kick me out because when I was at home I made the animals too talkative. And here I am." He said, noting everyone's look of horror and question in their eyes.**  
**

"Slade, I have one response to that." Steven started. "What in God's name is a meat helmet?" He asked.

"Oh, it's-" He started, but Mary cut him off.

"I think we'd rather not hear about it." She said, and everyone nodded.

"I'll tell you later." Slade mouthed to Steven and he nodded.

"Is all of that true?" Will asked, Slade immediately nodding.

"One hundred percent. Why?" He asked.

"Nothing... Just... Nothing..." Will said, getting back to his meal..

"Wh-what about you Mick?" Mary asked hesitantly.

"Well, I wish I could give an interesting childhood story like a person with such malaise and genius like Slade here can, with a father that claims chestnuts are lazy and all, but unfortunately I can't." He started. "I had a bit of a broken childhood myself. I lived in a tough part of L.A. I must've gone through three fights a week there. Sometimes more. I only went to high school until I was fourteen. It didn't really make a difference that I quit. I spent most of the seventh and eighth grade skipping seventh and eighth grade." He said, making Mackenzie laugh. She obviously had a crush on him, and because she was only thirteen, she was way too blunt about it all. Not realizing how obvious she was.

"How did you get into music?" Mary asked.

"Well, it was mostly through my mother. She always listened to people like The Beatles, John Lennon, Chuck Berry, and Elvis Presley. She always took me to concerts even when we couldn't afford it. Over time I grew wild about rock n' roll like she was, somehow found money to buy a guitar, and I started finding bands I liked such as my favorite, Motley Crue. And over time I guess I just decided that's what I wanted to do." He explained.

"I'm a huge Beatles fan myself." Ray said, finally taking his eyes off Slade or, apparently William Young.

"Yeah. I liked The Beatles and Chuck Berry, but I couldn't stand Elvis Presley." Mick explained.

"He was sorta the Michael Jackson of his time. It was kinda sad when he died, but he sorta killed himself, so you can't give him too much credit." Will said, noticing when Mackenzie looked at him when he mentioned Michael Jackson.

"I disagree." She simply said.

"She's obsessed with Michael Jackson. It's sometimes hard to call her a sister. I sometimes have dreams of putting her in a burlap bag and beating her with reeds for her insolence." Steven said, making Will laugh with his little joke at the end.

"Slade, how do you and Mick know each other?" Will asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, when I first met you both you were at my door step as if you knew each other." Will explained.

"Oh, well, we met at some club a few months before and started playing together. And we were looking at The Recycler and saw an add that said "People that had nothing to live for but this band", so we thought we'd check it out." He explained, using hand motions when he said the quote.

"Gee, I wish the news paper said something interesting like that when I joined." Steven said.

"Yes, well, why don't you tell us something about your childhood other than shooting off roman missiles at the house Mr. jokester?" Slade asked Steven.

"It's nothing special really." He said.

"Of course it wasn't special. You have to _be _special to have a special childhood." Will threw in.

"Yes, well, basically I grew up here. I always loved music and I got my first drum set when I was ten." He explained, taking a drink right after.

"Uh huh. Well, since I don't have reeds for such insolence, I'll have to do something different..." Slade said.

"And if I may ask, what would that be?" Steven asked, putting his hands together as he rested his elbows on the table.

"Mary, do you have any cute pictures of baby Steven that are to die for?" Slade asked, making Steven's head raise abruptly, trying to think of something to stop his mother. But Mary didn't leave time to blink.

"Of course! He was just the cutest baby! Let me get some pictures!" She said, getting up abruptly and immediately heading towards the house with great speed.

"Slade?" Steven asked.

"Hm?" He responded as he raised his head from his chicken.

"Remind me later to _kill you._" Steven said.

"No problem. Once I see these pictures I'll be able to die happily." He responded quickly.

"Whatever chestnut boy..."

* * *

"Have you guys made any songs?" Alyssa asked as Will practiced quietly in the living room.

"Yeah. We've made four so far. And I'm getting ready to write another one." Will answered as he looked up from his guitar.

"Are they good?" She asked.

"Our fans think so." He replied.

"How many fans do you have?" James asked.

"I honestly haven't counted." He answered, making Slade laugh.

"What's your favorite song?" Will asked James.

"Forget his favorite song. Play Baby by Justin Bieber." Mackenzie said, making Will and Slade slowly turn their heads to look at each other.

"Yeah... We don't like Justin Bieber..." Slade said.

"Why not?" She asked in response.

"Because we have a hard time believing he's a guy, let alone an artist." Will answered.

"Justin Bieber is the artist of the century whether you like it or not." She responded.

Will was quiet for a moment in shock, trying to comprehend what had just been said. "Steven!" Will yelled, immediately hearing footsteps.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Your sister's gone insane, I'm afraid. She just said Justin Bieber was the artist of the century." Will explained, shaking his head as he pointed towards Mackenzie.

"Where did I go wrong with you?" Steven asked.

"Oh please, he's amazing and you're just jealous of his success." She accused, making all of them laugh.

"Jealous of his success?" Slade asked. "What success? He skipped puberty for God's sake. 'He' is sixteen, sounds like a girl, doesn't know how to write music or know what music is, and he wears lipstick. what's to be jealous about that?" He asked.

"Whatever..." She responded. "And what is 'good music' then?" She asked.

"AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Aerosmith, basically anything that doesn't have a horrible stench of pop, rap, modern rock, or techno to it." Will answered.

"Really? Play some 'good music' then." She answered.

"Alright." He answered, immediately playing Back In Black.

"That sounds okay I guess. Play one of your songs." She said.

"Well, this is one is a beautiful song called We're All Gonna Die." He said.

"We're All Gonna Die?" James asked.

"Yep." He said, starting the main riff.

After he stopped playing he noticed Mackenzie, Alyssa and Jason's look of surprise.

"_You _made that?" Mackenzie asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"That's amazing." She said.

"Nope. What's amazing is the fact I wrote the lyrics, main riff and solo in a state of inebriation." He responded.

"What's inebriation mean?" She asked.

"Something I hope you never experience. The headaches the next day make you regret the night before." He answered.

"But still, there's nothing like a good keg to bring friends together." Steven added.

"Here here." Slade said in agreement.

* * *

During that night, when everyone was going to bed, Will realized Gilan was still in the bus. He got up out of his bed that he would sleep in for the night and headed quietly down the stairs, looking at the large square staircase and pictures as he glided down.

He quietly opened the front door, looking back to make sure Axl wasn't behind him, and shut it. He ran quietly at the bus, noticing the lights on. So he knew Gilan was still there. Or, at least, he hoped that's what it meant.

He opened the driver door of the tour bus and climbed inside. As he looked down the long bus he saw Gilan laying down on one of the long, black leather couches. He walked toward him, coughing to see if he was awake.

"Hey." Gilan said, keeping his eyes closed the whole time.

"Hey." Will responded.

"What do you want?" He asked as he yawned.

"For you to come in, personally." Will answered as he took a seat across from him.

"I see." He said.

"Gilan, why is this such a big deal for you?" Will asked.

"Sorry, can't talk about feelings. Man policy." He said, trying his best to annoy Will. And it was evident that it was working.

"Just because I want to get married doesn't mean I'm going to. She still hasn't said yes you know." Will joked, trying to make Gilan laugh. But it didn't work.

"That's of no concern to me personally." Gilan said, finally opening his eyes, but still laying down.

"I realize that. It's just a reassurance for you. I know how much you don't want me to get married." Will explained. "Just tell me, man to man, why it bothers you so much." Will proposed.

"Alright." He said as he readjusted himself. "Because you won't be around anymore, that's why." He said.

"What do you mean?" Will asked.

"You'll be married. I doubt Alyss will want to live in a small apartment with us. Plus, you'll have a family to take care of. You'd never be around. And knowing you, you'd probably settle for a different job because of it." Gilan explained.

"Gilan, just because I'm getting married doesn't mean I'll be gone. I'll still play shows, I'll still do tours, and I'll still make songs and albums. Being married won't slow me down. Work is work. This is my job, and I have to do it. Besides, I think Alyss would kill me if I quit the band." Will told Gilan, finally glad this was out of the way.

"If you get married it won't be the same. You're eighteen Will. Can't you at least wait a little longer? Besides, doesn't Alyss want to go to college?" Gilan asked.

"I don't want her to go. She's choosing a horrible college. And I feel maybe if I marry her she won't waste her time there." Will explained.

"That's the only reason you want to get married?" Gilan asked.

"No. That's just one of the reasons I want to get married _soon_. But, she's very strong-willed and stubborn. Once she puts her mind to something, she finishes it. I doubt she won't go to college." Will said, sighing.

"I think her going to college is for the best. I mean, you'll be touring exclusively once we get our album out. And then you'll have to work on the next album, and then the next, and so on and so forth." Gilan said.

"Are you suggesting I don't get married until I'm fifty?" Will asked.

"No. But that would be my plan if I were you." Gilan answered.

"What about kids?" Will asked.

"You're only going have like, two. So I'd say you'll be fine." Gilan answered.

"Two? Are you kidding me?" Will asked.

"How many do you want? Four?" Gilan asked.

"I was thinking more along the lines of eight or ten." He answered.

"_What_? _Eight_?" Gilan asked loudly.

"Yes, eight!" Will answered sarcastically loud.

"Why would you want so many kids? That's ridiculous. I doubt Alyss would want to give birth to eight or ten children anyway." Gilan said.

"She's the one that wanted that many actually." Will said.

"She does realize all kinds of condoms and birth control pills exist right?" Gilan asked.

"She's Catholic." Will answered.

"So?" Gilan asked, making will smack his forehead.

"Do you know nothing? Catholics don't believe in condoms or birth controls." Will explained.

"Than have a vasectomy." Gilan suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Will asked, getting up from his seat. "For one, I would _never _have that done to me. Second, again, Catholics don't believe in it." Will explained.

"Jeez. Fine, have a few abortions then." Gilan said.

"_No. _I wouldn't kill an innocent soul if I was at gun point." He explained. "And again, Catholics don't believe in that. They don't believe in anything that involves killing a baby or preventing a baby. That means no condoms, no birth control pills, no abortions, no nothing. You know what their birth control is? Not doing it." Will explained.

"Jeez, no wonder their all over the place." Gilan said.

"There's not one billion for no reason..." Will said.

"So what's that mean for you? If you get married now Alyss will be stretched more than a rubber band!" Gilan said.

"I just won't get married right now I suppose." Will sighed. "But still, I don't want her going to that college. It's a horrible college. I want her to go to a private college." Will said.

"Her dad doesn't have the money for that and you know it." Gilan said.

"I'll pay for most of it then. I'm getting more money than I need from this tour. Besides, once we get the album done and selling that'll bring in more money." Will said.

"It'll take every penny you have..." Gilan said.

"I don't care. I heard on the news just the other day of a girl almost getting raped in the parking lot. I'm not having that happen to her." Will said.

"Well, if she allows you to do this I guess you could try. But I doubt you can rake up the money." Gilan said.

"I will. Trust me." Will said. "Now, let's go inside. I'm not staying here all night talking about going broke." Will said, getting from the couch and offering Gilan a hand up.

Gilan looked at Will and his hand for a moment in thought, and a few moments later, he looked Will in the eyes and nodded, immediately grasping Will's forearm. Will knew that the simple nod and acceptance of his hand knew that it was Gilan's own way of apologizing. Just like Gilan knew the fact Will came out to the bus meant he forgave him. And he knew things would be okay between them.

* * *

The next morning at eight o,clock, everybody was getting ready for the concert later in the day in Steven's studio. The concert was going to be in a stadium with over five thousand people, and they needed to make sure they were ready and didn't forget any parts of the songs.

Will sighed, their was ten hours until the concert started, and he was on edge. He was ready to show why his band had the reputation it built over the year, and time wasn't going as fast as he wanted it to be.

"Steven, remind me again why you have a studio in your backyard?" Will asked.

"It's my dad's. And I figured it was going to come in handy later in life." Steven answered.

"Steven, what does your dad do that allows him to be rich?" Gilan asked.

"Oh, he owns a record company." Steven answered.

Everyone looked at him with meaningful glances, raising their hands in the air. "Than why the hell are we looking for a record label to sign us?" Gilan asked.

"Because I don't want my dad to do it. If he did it than he wouldn't care how much he thought the music sucked. He'd say it was the greatest music ever and sell the album in the thousands across America." Steven explained.

"Still, it's a good backup plan." Mick said.

"If we need a backup plan than we don't deserve to be signed by a record label." Will said, and Steven nodded.

"Exactly. Now, I will, however, have my dad give us tips. He's signed successful bands all across America and Europe, and he knows a thing or two about playing and signing a record deal." Steven said.

"Good, I was just about to ask if he would do that." Will said.

"Yeah, he'll be in in a few minutes. Just keep doing what you're doing and when he comes in pay close attention. No meddling around. Trust me, that drives him insane." Steven warned, and everyone nodded in acknowledgment.

* * *

"Okay honey, I'm going to go give Steven's band a few pointers." Ray said to his wife as he headed towards the sliding glass door.

"Okay dear, be nice." Mary said.

Ray slid the door closed, immediately walking towards the studio. He acted like it annoyed him that he had to do this, but in truth, he couldn't be prouder of his son and his accomplishments. He was only be hard on them because he felt everything was falling into place for them way too easily, and he felt every band needed it's hardships.

He opened the door to the studio, and as he shut the door, he put on his work face.

"Okay, let's get this over with." He said, walking towards his seat behind the studio window.

"First, are there any questions?" He asked, and everyone just looked at each other and shook their head.

"Oh, so you know that much about this do you? Than why am I here? You're all such experts at it already and you obviously don't need pointers." He said.

"It's not that we feel that we know everything, we just don't know what to ask." Will said, and Ray nodded with an annoyed look on his face.

"Let's start with live concerts first." He started. "First off, if you make a mistake, act like it was supposed to happen. Never wince, never curse, never do anything that will allow the crowd to know it wasn't on purpose. Got it?" He asked and everyone nodded. "Now, if there's technical difficulties, which there will be, improvise. As the crew is working on it, one of you, talk to the crowd, to a solo, dance, make jokes, I don't care. _Never _leave a crowd bored. Also, explain why you're not playing. Tell them there's difficulties. Never lie. Got it?" He asked.

"Got it." Will answered.

"If you trip or fall, again, make it look like it was on purpose. How do you think Angus Young started the spasm?" Ray pointed out.

"Now, if a somebody in the crowd is giving you trouble, be nice. Ever watched Roadhouse?" He asked, and eventually everyone nodded. "Good. The most important thing is be nice. Never yell, never scream, never threaten. If he's throwing something at you and he's not drunk, it's your own fault. You're not speaking with the audience. See what you think you may be doing wrong. Fix it. Never blame the crowd. Just as the customer is always right, so is the audience." Ray explained. "However, if he keeps giving you trouble, dispose of him. Explain to him that if he doesn't stop you'll have to kick him out." He said.

"Wouldn't that qualify as threatening?" Slade asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. When I said threatening I was referring to trash talking. Never trash talk the audience. They payed their money to see a show, and if you trash talk them you've just lost that much of your fans." Ray explained and Slade nodded.

"Will, I see you use an SG." Ray noted. "That's good. It makes a raw sound, and it's also the most lightweight electric guitar you'll ever find. Meaning you can do a lot of stunts with it. Meaning, if you just sit in one spot the whole time and bore the crowd, it's your own fault. Do cool stunts. Keep the crowd excited. Run, do the duckwalk, dance like a ballerina, I don't care. As long as it's thrilling it works." Ray said.

"Also, I highly recommend watching bands live. Go on Youtube or buy dvd's of a band playing live, or something. Trust me, you'll learn something new no matter how many times you watch it." Ray said.

"I think I've basically covered most about live performances. Are there any questions? This is your last chance to ask." Ray said.

"Uh, yeah, what happens if you need to cut the show early?" Mick asked.

"Finally, you're realizing you don't know half as much as you thought." Ray said. "If you absolutely _cannot _keep the show going, apologize to the crowd, and promise an even greater performance in the future. Never let them feel as if that was all they were going to get. Make them feel like this was merely a sample." He answered. "Oh, and as a side note," Ray started. "Never let girlfriends in front." He said.

"Why?" Will asked.

"They overdo their part. Trust me, there's been many breakups between couples because the girlfriend was too wild. A little cheering is okay, but believe me, I know, they scream 'I love you' a lot of the time, and that's a sticking point for most people. It's supposed to be a rock show, not a live performance of your love that nobody cares about." He said.

"I see." Will said.

"Now, is there anything else before we move on?" Ray asked.

"Nothing that I can think of." Will said.

"Good. Because we covered basically everything." Ray said. "Now, when signing a record label, it may_, _no, in fact, it _will _bore you, but you _have _to read the contract. Many times I'll see people be signed by a record company, and later they'll find out that they won't get payed by the record company, or the record company will have rights over changing the sounds of the songs and possibly even get rid of songs because it was in the contract and the band didn't read it. _Always, read, the contract_!" Ray said, emphasizing the last four words.

"I'll make sure I remember that." Will said.

"Also, if the contract is longer than ten pages, it means you should stay away from the record label. If it's longer than ten pages, which even then, ten pages is a lot for the most part, it means they're trying to bore you out of reading it. And that there's stuff in the contract they don't want you to read." Ray said.

"I'll definitely watch out for that then." Slade said.

"Good. Now, concerning lockdown, you don't _always _have to have a song. Sometimes, a song will be almost impossible to make. Aerosmith nearly dropped the idea for Walk This Way because it was too hard to write. It wasn't until they actually _left _the studio during the middle of lockdown and watched a movie did Steven Tyler get an idea for the lyrics. Which goes into my next point, you'll be frustrated some of the time. Never think it's all fun and games. Sometimes it'll be hard, frustrating, and it sometimes just plain won't be fun. The most important thing to do when that happens is to put your instrument down, take a deep breath, and get your mind off of it for half an hour or so. Trust me, you don't have to work the entire night during lockdown. Take a nap, watch an episode of a show you like, I don't care. Whatever gets your mind off of it. Then, after you're done, you'll come right back in swinging and it'll be a lot easier. Never overwork yourself. If you overwork yourself you'll make mistakes, and then you'll get even more frustrated." Ray explained. "Is all of that clear?" He asked.

"I think I have the just of it down." Steven said.

"Okay, we'll move on then. Who here actually _saves _the money they get?" He asked, and wasn't surprised when only Will and Steven raised their hands.

"Uh huh. That's what I figured." He said. "Save your money. You don't have to spend it all the moment you get it. I don't care if it's only sixty dollars a week you're putting into your bank account. Save money. It'll come in handy one day." He said. "Now, are there anymore questions?" He asked.

"Not really." Mick said.

"Good. That's basically all I have to say, really. Those are the basic things to keep in mind. Be strong, the main thing about this is to never give up. If you're first album isn't successful, make another one. It's easier said than done, but just make another one. Never assume it's all over just because your debut album didn't go over well. This is a day and age where Rock isn't the most popular genre anymore. Create, practice, sell. Those are the three basics of this business. And never forget that." He said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a cup of coffee and some Asprin." Ray said, getting up from his rather comfortable leather desk chair.

"Okay. Thanks for the advice Ray." Will said.

"Don't thank me unless you succeed." Ray said gruffly as he walked through the door, closing it immediately.

"He's quite the social one, isn't he?" Will said.

"He acts like this annoyed him but I could tell this thrilled him. He likes doing this sort of stuff." Steven said.

"Whatever you say." Slade said. "Now, let's get practicing."

* * *

It was seven o,clock, and everyone was loading their things into the bus. They were still on edge like they were this morning, just like every morning before a show, and they were ready to do a two and a half hour show.

Steven's brother and sisters were helping them load everything, but Will knew why. They wanted to go to the show, which, though he thought would be fun for them, he wasn't quite sure they should be in a crowd of five thousand people. Many people have been crushed in mosh pits before, and he didn't want them to share the same fate.

He looked down at himself as he carried a drum off of Steven's drum kit. He was wearing a Ronnie James Dio shirt, and his usual dark blue jeans. His thoughts drifted on to Dio. Dio was, in his opinion, the greatest singer to ever live. And not only that, he was the nicest guy you'd ever meet. He always treated you as a person, and he was always expressing his love and appreciation for the fans. There were many stories about him helping out people he didn't even know, and it only made people that didn't even like his music like him. And it hit Will like a freight train on the morning of Dio's death.

But, he figured that, in hindsight, Dio was seventy six, and he was looking for somebody to pass on the torch. And he had no problem taking it.

When they were all done, everyone was in front of the bus on the lawn, side by side, because Mary wanted to take a few pictures of them in front of the tour bus. Which was okay as far as Will was concerned.

"Okay, smile guys!" She said, taking a few pictures. Everyone had their arms around each others shoulders, and, like Mary said, they smiled.

"Yeah, smile Chia Pet." Gilan said.

"That's it..." Will muttered, walking into the house. Everyone wondered what he was up to, and before long, they realized.

As Will walked by out, they realized he had watered down his hair. It didn't go too far down, it only went halfway down his ears, and it somehow retained some of it's fluffy features, but, all in all, it looked a lot better. And Gilan realized it looked like Angus Young's hair.

"Call me Chia Pet now." He said, getting back to his spot in the middle.

"Wow, you look... better." Alyssa said, making everyone look at her.

"Alyssa, please don't hit on Will. He's four years older than you." Steven said.

"I wasn't hitting on him." She said. "I was simply saying he looked better." She said.

"Uh huh..." Was Steven's reply.

"Whatever, let's just take the pictures and go." Slade said.

"That reminds me, can we go?" Jason asked.

"No, it's too dangerous." Mary said.

"How is it dangerous? It's just a concert." Jason said.

"You could get crushed in the mosh pit. It's happened many times." Will said.

"We could go backstage instead." Jason said.

"That is true..." Slade muttered into Will's ear.

"I don't think so honey. Maybe next time." Mary said.

"They could go backstage if you let them, I mean, nobody will be back there except crew and security. They'll just need earplugs." Slade said.

"Well, I guess if you guys say it's okay they can go, but..." Mary said.

"Yes!" Jason exclaimed. "But why would we need earplugs?" He asked.

"We play very loud music. And you'll be near the speakers. Trust me, you'll need 'em." Mick said.

"Okay, but let's get going." Jason said.

"My thoughts exactly..." Slade and Ray said at the same time, and they looked at each other weirdly.

"Oh God you hired my father..." Steven said.

"We wouldn't know that if we left, now would we?" He asked.

"Okay, okay, just one more picture." Mary said, raising the camera up. "Now, smile." She said, and everyone smiled. As soon as the camera flashed, the smiles left immediately and they all headed towards the bus speedily.

"Okay, we'll be back by eleven." Steven said.

"Wait, they'll be gone until eleven?" Mary asked.

Everyone then started running towards the bus, and Steven slammed the doors abruptly.

"Wait! We need to talk about this!" Mary yelled as Steven started backing up. Steven smiled a fake smile at her and waved as he quickly backed out of the driveway, wincing as he ran over the trash can.

* * *

As they pulled into the parking lot, there was a large crowd of screaming fans, and the guys couldn't help but smile.

"I knew we were getting famous, but I didn't know we were crowd worthy." Steven said, raising his eyebrows.

As Steven parked, they all headed to the back to grab their equipment, and when they got back to the front, they were somewhat hesitant to go out the door.

"Somehow, I feel as if I'll regret walking through this door..." Slade said. "Stay close by, kids. I've seen fans do some scary things. Jason, if the girls do some funny things-" But Steven stopped Slade right in his tracks.

"You won't have to worry, because you're two _good sister's_ will be there to cover your eyes and ears." Steven said, making a meaningful glance at Mackenzie and Alyssa as he emphasized the words "good sisters".

He opened the door, and as Will jumped onto the ground, SG case in hand, it was responded to by loud screaming fans. As everyone got off the bus, they smiled and waved, somehow finding a way to walk through the crowd.

"We're more famous-er than I thought." Steven yelled in Will's ear.

"My thoughts exactly." Will yelled back, moving his hand in front of him to make a way through the crowd of fans.

When they somehow found a way to the door, Steven couldn't help but laugh at Will holding open the door for everyone. He always noted Will's politeness, but even now, he was surprised that Will would hold a door for everyone as he fended for his life from the fans. He smiled while nodding at Will as he walked through the door, looking back to make sure everyone was intact.

When the kids walked through the door, Will couldn't help but run into the building, making sure the door was locked after he slammed it.

"That was just plain scary." Will said as he leaned against the door.

"It really was. But let's get going." Slade said, heading down the hall.

"He's not one for patience, is he?" Steven asked.

"He really isn't." Will said, immediately running towards him down the long hall.

* * *

They were all getting warmed up in the back behind the large curtain. Will glanced around as he played a heavy riff. There were two entrances at the sides of the curtain, and that gave him an idea.

"What are your thoughts Will?" Slade asked.

"Well, I'm thinking, that it would be more energetic if we start to play a song, and then burst out of the sides, instead of simply walking onstage and then playing something." He said.

"Sounds like a good plan. What about Steven though?" He asked.

"That's the only crack in my plan. I'm trying to figure out what to do with Steven." He answered, still deep in thought as his hand went to the stubble on his face. He rubbed it, it had been a week since he'd last shaved, and he groaned in his mind. He always hated shaving, but if he didn't do it soon, he'd look like some sort of mountain man.

"Two minutes until we play. What's the problem?" Steven asked as he walked up.

"Nothing. We're just thinking over our plan of attack here. I think that if we start playing and then burst through the sides instead of simply walk out there and then start playing it will be more energetic, but what will we do with you?" Will asked.

"Don't worry, I have something in mind." Steven said, walking towards the right side of the curtains. "Alright, you guys, stay out of trouble. Watch us through the sides, and if somebody tries to steal one of you, run onto stage. That'll get people's attention." He said. "Alyssa, what have you done with the recorder?" He asked.

"I had one of the crew guys go near the front of the right side with it and put it on a tripod." She answered.

"Did you tell him when to start recording?" He asked.

"At the first sight of one of you. Which, at this angle, is probably now." She answered.

"Good. Now, I'm going to go play music." He said, grabbing a bucket of a few free shirts and wrist bands.

He took a deep breath, and walked into view with a walk of authority about him. And as he looked to the crowd, he was shocked. It was a huge, flat concrete floor, and it was so packed some people had to stay in the entrance.

The screams of the crowd was enormous, and nearly made him go deaf. He walked up to the microphone, and he was ready to start the show.

"How is everybody doing tonight?" He asked loudly, and the crowd immediately responded with loud screams and whistles.

"Who wants to be known as the first person to have a prototype Appetite For Destruction shirt and wrist band?" He asked, immediately throwing the shirts and wrist bands into the crowd. The shirt they'd made had everyone on it, but they were skeletons, and the name of the band was written in red flames. It still had a lot of work to do, but they wanted to give the fans something to remember them for.

As for the wrist bands, they were nothing special. Simply black wrist bands with their name in red flames. But, again, they just wanted the fans to have a souvenir.

"Hopefully one of these days I'll be throwing albums and shirts that don't look like they should be sued for copyright, but for now these will do I hope." He said, trying to soften the crowd up. He looked to his right, and as Will nodded that he and Slade were ready, he looked to the left and saw Gilan and Mick were ready as well.

"How about I shut up and start playing music?" He asked and a few moments later headed for his drum set. He grabbed his drum sticks, raising them to the air as a sign that things were kicking off, and he waited for Will to kick off the first part of the song.

Suddenly, everyone heard a heavy riff play, and then a loud scream. And as Steven started playing drums, everyone bursted out of the sides, and flames from flame pods jumped up.

The crowd cheered in excitement, making everyone smile. Will banged his head as he walked, and sometimes ran around stage, exciting the crowd as Ray had told him, and he was enjoying this more than ever before.

"Close the city and, tell the people that, somethings coming to crawl!

Death and darkness are, rushing forward to stamp light from the wall!

Oh, you've nothing to say, they'll drag you away!

If you listen to fools, the mob rules!" Slade sang as he ran around stage, excited by all the movement and heavy music. He was always more of a rock guy, but heavy metal was always fun to sing. And at the moment, he wasn't sure if Metal wasn't his new favorite genre.

"The mob rules!" He sang again, making the devil horns with his hands. He figured it was appropriate. If you were going to sing a song by Ronnie James Dio, you might as well use the famous thing he started.

"Kill the spirit and, you'll be blinded the end is always the same!

Play with fire, you'll burn your fingers and, you'll get hold of a flame, oh!

It's over, it's done! The end has begun! If you listen to fools, the mob rules!" He screamed, running towards Will as he started the solo.

As Will played the solo he got closer to the edge of the stage and toward the crowd, bending down as he got near eye level with the crowd. He got back up, doing the duckwalk across the stage. Slade gave him a bit of a funny look, but as far as Will was concerned, this was a great song to do the duckwalk on, so he didn't care.

As the solo ended about a minute later, Slade got away from rocking with Mick and Gilan to the center and near the crowd, ready to sing again.

"You've nothing to say, oh they're breaking away!

If you listen to fools...

Break the circle and, stop the movement, the wheel is thrown to the ground!

Just remember it, might stop rolling and, turn you right back around!" He sang, ready to end the song.

Getting in the center and bending his knees, pointing his finger as he yelled: "You're all fools! The mob rules!" He yelled fiercely, and Mick started the outro solo. And about half a minute later, when the solo was done, the crowd cheered wildly.

After the cheers started dying away, Will walked up to the mic.

"Are you ready to party tonight?" He asked loudly, and was content as the crowd screamed loudly in response.

**(Sucky speech ahead)** "Now, as many of you know, the greatest voice in history was put to sleep this year." Will started. "Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer at the age of seventy six. His death was unexpected since it was reported that his stomach cancer was disappearing, and Ronnie was having to go to less doctor checkups. But, in his life, he was known as the most powerful voice in Metal, and the gentleman of the musical world. He was always the last person onto the tour bus and into buildings. Why? Because he was holding the door for everyone. Once he was in New York and all of this guy's money was stolen. Ronnie saw it fit that he brought this guy back to his hotel, bought him dinner and a few drinks, and made sure he had enough money to get a flight home. He was definitely the gentleman of the musical world, and he'll definitely be missed. He was famed for his live concerts. His fans would often comment on how they felt he was singing to them, and the lyrics were made for each of them specifically. He cared for the fans like no other. The fans were his main priority. He often called them his family, and his reason for being here. Well, even though he's no longer here, I still feel as if I'm a part of his family. And I still feel like the greatest person alive. At his funeral, the Westboro Baptist Church, led by the fearless Fred Phelps from Topeka Kansas, started a rally against him, saying he was a Satan worshiper. Well, it didn't phase Dio's wife Wendy at all. She said that they only knew how to accuse and hate, and therefore they should do as Ronnie taught and love. So, in honor of Dio, and to make things right, we're officially dedicating this tour, our album, this night, this band, and this entire year, to the greatest man to ever live, Ronnie James Dio." Will said, and the crowd applauded and cheered in response.

* * *

Later in the concert, they were playing their fifth song, Voodoo, from the Black Sabbath album The Mob Rules. They were playing all Dio songs. From Rainbow to Heaven And Hell, and so far the crowd was going wild about it.

As Will played the solo, Slade walked near the drum set, and was amazed at Steven. Since Mob Rules, he'd pounded on the drums as hard as he possibly could. He was always an aggressive drum player, but every time they would play Dio songs his beats would become ten times harder. Which merely indicated to everyone that he felt the music more when he played it.

Slade looked to his right at the curtains and saw Steven's brother and sister's. Jason and Alyssa were rather enjoying themselves, but Mackenzie found it "uncool" to do any interaction with the songs. Oh well, that was her loss. She didn't know how fun it really was to interact with the music.

He walked up towards the front of the stage with an authority-like walk. Something that Alice Cooper would do, and he brought his mic up to sing. And as he sang, thoughts were swirling around his head. He loved the way music gave him authority. And how people treated him differently. He grew up in the poor life, and everyone treated him like he was nothing. But now, people treated him as if he were a king. And he'd kill himself before he gave that up.

* * *

"Why aren't you doing anything Mackenzie?" Jason asked his sister.

"Because you look stupid." She said, her arms crossed as she simply stood there.

Alyssa pointed her finger at the band. "They're jumping around, running, Will's doing some weird jump-like walk across the stage, and Steven's banging his head like crazy. I get that you're so above all of us and all, but you should try to have a good time." She said, pointing out how idiotic Mackenzie's statement was.

"I don't feel I'm better than you. I just feel it's idiotic to embarrass yourself like that." She responded.

"If Justin Bieber was out there you'd do whatever everyone else was doing just because it was Justin Bieber." Jason pointed out.

"Yes, but that's Justin Bieber." She said, acting as if that said it all.

"Who cares? It doesn't matter who's out there. It matters if you like the music and are having a good time." Alyssa said.

"But it would be _Justin Bieber_." She responded, again acting like it said it all.

"Exactly. It's _Justin Bieber_. The guy that wears lipstick." Jason said.

"Poison wore lipstick." Mackenzie said.

"It's different though, because they were a rock band. And they had more masculinity in their pinky than Justin Bieber has in his entire body." Alyssa responded.

"Whatever!" Mackenzie yelled, storming off.

"You aren't supposed to leave!" Jason yelled.

"I don't care!" She screamed as she headed down the long hallway.

"This isn't good..." Alyssa said, wondering what she was going to do.

* * *

Slade was in the back by Steven as Will played the solo to Rainbow In The Dark when he saw Alyssa motioning him to come over. He ran towards Will and told him that he had to make the solo longer, much to Will's dismay. He loved the song, but the solo was extremely fast, and it made your hand cramp after a while. But, he was going to do as Slade told him.

"What's wrong?" Slade asked as he walked towards her.

"Mackenzie got mad and stormed off." She told him.

"_What_?" He asked.

"She got mad and she stormed off down that hallway. I didn't know what to do." She explained.

Slade sighed. They were almost done with the set, and they would end it in about ten minutes. But he couldn't leave Mackenzie in the large building alone somewhere. Somebody could kidnap her, kill her, or even rape her on the spot. There was loud music and nobody but the crew was in the back. Nobody would ever catch someone doing it. He could possibly run after her, but poor Will, he thought. His hand wouldn't be able to play normally ever again. He thought for a moment, and he thought up a plan.

"Stay here. Neither one of you leaves here. You got it?" He asked and they nodded their heads. "Good. If she comes back, tell me." He said and he jumped back out on the stage, which, he could tell by Will's face, was a godsend.

He sang the rest of the song, sometimes faster than intended, and after it was over, he walked to Steven.

"Mackenzie's gone missing." He said and Steven had a look of shock on his face.

"What?" He asked, making sure he got what was said right.

"She got mad and she stormed off somewhere in the building. We only have one more song left though, so I'd hate to just stop. I think if we just play Holy Diver, get it over with, and sprint across the building on a wild goose chase, it would be for the best." Slade proposed.

Steven sat there for a moment in thought, and decided he would go with Slade's plan. "Okay. Let's get playing then." He said.

* * *

Mackenzie walked to her left. There was a nice bench she could sit on. She didn't know why she got so angry. She just did. She'd have to apologize for it later, as much as she dreaded apologizing. She hated having to apologize. It made her feel weak. But, there was no room for those opinions in her house. When you did something bad, you said sorry, and you meant it.

She sighed, it was nice to sit. She had been standing for an hour and a half, listening to some dead guy's songs she'd never even heard of. But, at least she could go, she thought. She would've been more mad to have had to stay home and not had the option to go. She thought for a few minutes, listening to the distorted and echoed beat of the song the band was playing when suddenly some guy came from nowhere. He walked up to her, a weird look on his face.

"May I sit down with you?" He asked. There was something about his voice, she thought. It was soft, and welcoming, but there was something behind it. Some sort of point to it, and it made her uneasy. She nodded and moved over to her right, allowing the guy room to sit here.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked. He had a torn black shirt, with a dirty gray jacket on top of that. And he had deeply faded, originally blue, jeans on. His nose was somewhat misshapen, meaning it got broken at some point in his life, and he had dirty medium black hair. The simple sight of him made her uneasy, and she wanted to know what his intention was.

"I came here for the concert and decided I would go for a walk." She responded after a few moments.

"It's dangerous to be out in this city by your own, you know." He said.

"So I've heard." She responded. She wasn't acting nice, like this guy was. She used a voice that was nonchalant, a voice that asked what this guy wanted, and this guy sensed it.

"Not much of a talker huh? That's good." He said, getting suspicious. Mackenzie got up for a moment and tried to head off, but he grabbed her arm fiercely, not letting her go no matter what she tried.

"Let me go!" She yelled as she tried her best to escape from the grip, but it was no use. He was far stronger than she'd ever be.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked as he got up and grabbed the back of her long black hair, pulling it back.

She squinted her eyes in pain as he pulled her hair back. _What have I gotten myself into? _She asked herself, but she had a feeling she'd find out soon enough.

He grabbed her face and forced her mouth to his. He slipped his tongue in, but she simply bit down as hard as she could.

"Ah!" He screamed as his head jumped back. "You bitch!" He yelled as he slapped her left cheek with his free hand.

He forced her to the ground, and after she was lying flat on her back, he slipped his arm up her shirt, groping her breasts fiercely as he used his right hand to cover her mouth.

He started taking her shirt off, and then he unsnapped her bra. Mackenzie couldn't help but let tears fall freely down her cheeks. She hadn't cried in a long time, but she agreed to herself that this was one of the few situations where it was perfectly acceptable to cry.

He then started dragging her pants down her legs and looked at her with a smirk that made her scared stiff, but not too stiff.

She kicked him in the ribs and he winced in pain. He looked back at her with hell fires in his eyes, and she realized that kicking him may not have been the greatest of ideas.

He started punching her in the abdomen and face, and would sometimes throw in a few punches to the shoulders. And after a minute, her face was bleeding in some spots and she gave up fighting. It would cause no good and end in pain.

He took off his shirt and started unbuttoning his pants. He smiled inwardly. He was going to enjoy this.

"Hey!" He heard a voice yell as five guys came into sight with some of the angriest looks he'd ever seen. He got up quickly in an attempt to run away, but they were already hot on the trail.

He ran down the long, somewhat dark hallway when a shorter than average man caught up to him with great speed and tackled him down.

He tumbled down, kicking the man away as he rolled sideways, but there were four other guys running at him to give him the beating of his life.

Steven was the first, and as he jumped on top of the man, he had a fist flying at his stubbly face. The man flinched, and tried to block it with his hands, but it was no use. Even if his hands had been in the right spot, when Steven jumped on him he had all the momentum in the world to knock through them, and possibly break them. The fist landed on the right side of his face, and before he had time to blink, another one was headed towards the other side. One by one, in rapid succession, the punches were flying from places he didn't even think possible. But, he was a fighter, and he rolled, knocking Steven to the side, giving him time to slowly and wearily get up.

He turned around and saw two guys coming in to spear him in the stomach. And as they ran, lowering themselves so they're shoulders would hit him, he once again flinched, but, like what would always happen, the flinch and hand gesture didn't do a thing. The combined force of the two spearing into his stomach was enough to nearly knock an elephant down. When Slade and Gilan landed on top of him, they did whatever came to mind: Kneeing him, using fists, elbows, feet, and even their heads. They were merciless, and they didn't show any sign of stopping.

Though Steven would love nothing more than to join them in the beat down, he needed to check Mackenzie. He ran towards her, all the worries coming back into his head as his rage mode began to lower.

When he found her she was rolled up in a ball, quietly crying to herself. He quickly went to his knees and looked to see if there was anything wrong with her. He saw bruises, and she was bleeding in the face. He then went into panic mood.

"Mackenzie! Talk to me!" He said, trying to make her respond.

"Give me my shirt..." She said through sobs.

Steven did as she said and gave her the shirt a few feet away from her. She slowly grabbed it and put it on. After it was one she slowly raised her body, but didn't stand. She grabbed the jeans she had and shakily put them on. After, Steven couldn't help but give her a hug. She cried into his arms, not caring anymore. She'd never been more hurt in her life. But it was more mentally hurt than it was physically.

After a few minutes, Steven helped her get up. Her legs were still shaking, and the grip she had on his arm was weak. Steven couldn't help but hate the man. He hated him with his entire being, and he didn't apologize for it.

A few moments later, some security guards ran in to see if everything was okay. And they looked at Steven and Mackenzie with a look of question in their eyes.

One of the guards were about to ask what happened, but the rest of the band appeared and threw a limp form across the hallway. The body looked like it was a shell of what a human was supposed to look like. Whatever these guys did, they didn't do it with mercy.

They got down and handcuffed him. By the sight of the bruised crying girl, they assumed that they knew what happened. And they didn't think they needed to bring the girl to more tears by asking what happened.

"Dan, call an ambulance." The bald one of the two said, and the one named Dan nodded as he grabbed his two way radio to call in an ambulance.

"We're going to have to ask you guys to move towards the front of the building." He said and they nodded. They slowly walked down the long hallway, Steven wondering how he was supposed to tell his parents.

* * *

When the ambulance and police arrived, questions were thrown from all over. Steven answered all of them, but he got annoyed after a while.

"I've explained this to you twice already. We got there, we beat him up, security arrived, we went to the front, and now I'm being asked the same questions over and over again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to call my parents." He told the annoying cop, walking away and grabbing his phone. He held the number two button and immediately heard the phone dialing. He sighed, it was going to be tough to explain this to his mother. She was overprotective. And overreacted about everything. You could tell her that you burnt the muffins and she'd have a mental breakdown.

"_Hello?_" He heard his mother say as she answered the phone. _Great..._ He thought to himself.

"I need to talk to dad." He said.

"_Oh, hi Steven. How was your concert_?" She asked.

"The best yet. Dad please?" He said hastily.

"_Okay, hold on. He's right here_." She said._ Finally..._ He said to himself.

"_Hello Steven._" His father said in greeting.

"Hi dad. I hope your evening was good." Steven said.

"_It was rather enjoyable. How was the concert?_" He asked.

"The concert was good. I enjoyed it most out of all the concerts." He answered.

"_That's good. Is that what you wanted to tell me?_" His father asked.

"No, actually. Something happened." Steven said.

"_Meaning?_" His father asked.

"Well, first, I would like to inform you that everything is okay and no one is going to die." Steven said.

"_Oh lord. What happened?_" His father sighed. That was exactly what Steven said when he was hit by a car.

"Well, this is kinda hard to say..." Steven said.

"_It wouldn't be that hard if you would actually tell me._" He responded.

"Well, you have to promise you won't freak out... During the concert, Jason, Alyssa and Mackenzie were fighting, so Mackenzie stormed off, and she was in this hallway when this guy came up and, long story short, he _attempted _to rape her." He explained, giving extra emphasis on the word "attempted".

There was a dead silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, which Steven knew what was to come. He rolled his eyes and pulled the phone away a few inches, getting ready.

"_What?_" His father yelled loudly. "_Why would you allow that to happen!_" His father scolded.

"I _didn't _allow it to happen. I was playing music, and we ended the concert, and we ran right off stage to go find her._" _Steven explained.

His father calmed down, but was still a bit angry. "_Did he...?_" His father asked, not fully completing the sentence.

"No, dad. Like I said, nothing happened." Steven answered.

"_Okay. Good. But, where are you?_" He asked.

"We're going to be headed to Saint Peter's hospital once these fricking cops stop asking the same questions." Steven answered, making a meaningful glance at a cop with a pen and a paper was walking toward him, but he got the message and walked past Steven.

"_We'll be there._" He said, hanging up. Steven sighed, his mother would be frantic. He was just glad he wasn't the one that was going to tell her.

* * *

**(1) That is a reference to me, actually. We have to black outside cats that are always in the driveway. I actually like these cats because they're not demonic like most of the cats I've had in my life.**

**(2) That is NOT to offend any people who attend the Pentecostal church. That is a reference to Axl Rose's old church. I do realize not all of them are like that.**

**Anyways, wow. This was the longest chapter ever. I can't believe I'm writing chapters this long. I apologize for the great wait you had to endure to read this, but, this was a long chapter, so at least I had a small excuse.**

**I did feel awkward writing the very ending to this chapter, but, I needed some angst in the mix of this. And that was the first thing that came to mind. (Blame a story I once read) If that creeped you out, I'm sorry. But that's the way life goes.**

**Now, I'm going to start off this thing where I tell an embarrassing story about myself. (Note: It's a TOTAL ripoff of Web Soup) **

**So, get ready for, THE MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENTS EVER... *This week and last week***

**So, there I was, in church, and there was this noticeably beautiful blond in the pew right in front of me. Sounds like nothing to worry about, right? Well, wrong. I have a HUGE thing for blonds and my brother knows that, so, when I go to shake hands with this girl, my brother looks at my mother with his big stupid smile on his face and then my mother was just, annoying about it all and, it totally ruined my church experience that day... Plus, I wanted to KILL my brother... I wonder why I haven't yet as the days go by...**

**As for the other one, my sister came home from college, right? Well, EVERY TIME SHE COMES HOME MY BROTHER TELLS HER ABOUT SOMETHING I DID OR LOOKED UP! So, I got back at him and told her something about him like I should've done A LONG TIME AGO.**

**But yeah, anyways, this chapter took so long to write this that I went through four favorite bands. First it was Kiss, then AC/DC, then Guns N' Roses, then BACK to AC/DC, and now, it's obviously anything that had Dio. Kinda sad when you think about it...**

**Anyways, read, review, be nice, etc. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and will go fangirl on it. *Cough* Rowana Renee *Cough***


	9. Chapter 9

**I LIVE!**

**Happy belated New Year! So, I've been working on this chapter for a long, LONG time. I realized that I was almost done with the chapter, and it was already past New Years! So I hauled butt to try and get the story out. You have no idea just how hard that was... So many versions... So many, painful, PAINFUL, drafts... I get Vietnam flashbacks just thinkin' about it...**

** But anywho, I thought, what better thing to do than to make this a belated Christmas/New Years present to my followers! In sort of a sense of, this is how your year is going to start out. Gee, a few days into the new year and it's already starting to suck!  
**

**But anyways, yet another chapter from yours truly. I solemnly swear that this chapter will be at LEAST ten thousand words. So don't worry. I'm not now, and will never, sneak in a short one. In fact, a ten thousand word chapter will be a short one.  
**

**The last chapter was definitely the best. The length, the detail, it actually made BurningSaphireFlames happy. She even liked the few chapters before. If I can please that picky woman than I'm author worthy. :P**

**However, the mere fact that she liked the few previous chapters only means I'm gonna blow it with this one... I always do. :P  
**

**Anyways, I have some announcements. Such as the fact, that I have a guitar teacher now! Not just ANY guitar teacher either. Troy *Blank*. He's a local rock hero around here. He's in his forties and he's been lead vocals and lead guitar in his band for about twenty years now. They're awesome. His band is probably the best thing to come out of our town. He has got the most mad skills on his guitar, I swear... I thought he was good, and then he played intro and riff to Van Halen's Hot For Teacher perfectly, and I realized that the word "good" did no justice.**

**But, I think the best part of it all, is that he thinks I'm really good. I'm still going with the fact that I'm only okay, but he keeps telling me how amazed he is at how fast I pick things up. And about how naturally I play the guitar. But I can't really trust his judgment because he then told me he wasn't good at guitar...**

**But, onto important things, there has been a miraculous miracle thingy that happened. As I was playing Storm The House 2 (Great free online game I recommend) I was going through my Youtube channel to find songs to play. I was very frustrated as there was very little songs that drowned out the gun shots. But, there were two songs that were loud enough: We're All Gonna Die and Ghost. Both great songs that are from Slash's solo album. Meaning, I'm back into that. And my thoughts for maybe making another version of this but all AC/DC instead is now gone. Good news indeed. Because if I did that one than I would never touch this one again.**

**Anyways, I'm in a pickle. I can't decide what my favorite guitar is. Gibson SG, or Gibson Les Paul. I just can't decide. The Les Paul is legendary and is used by almost every band that matters. (Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, etc) But I just can't decide. I worship AC/DC on a daily basis. How am I supposed to go against my very heroes? But I don't know. Slash is my on again off again favorite guitarist of all time. And everyone not dumb knows he uses a Les Paul.  
**

**But anyways, coming back onto the topic of my guitar teacher Troy, it was our second guitar lesson last night, (Once again we went an hour overtime) and he taught me the AC/DC classic Have A Drink On Me off their Back In Black album. Therefore, I want to play some AC/DC. So expect AC/DC in this chapter. From Stiff Upper Lip to High Voltage. Plus, a little Alice Cooper.  
**

***Chugs Down Cherry Coke* Oh! I almost forgot! Last chapter, there's an Easter egg in it. There is something I forgot to take out before I posted the chapter. The first one that guesses it right and tells me in a review what it is wins. The prize? I haven't got a clue yet...**

**Oh! I almost forgot! This Christmas was AWESOME! I got a HUGE Behringer amp. It's got two hundred and ten watts. Plus, dual speakers, and ninety-nine effects. Plus, I got AC/DC's Family Jewels. Which is basically two DVD's that just shows AC/DC playing music live. Nothing says Merry Christmas like Brian Johnson singing What Do You Do For Money Honey!**

**And remember, no matter how much the beginning of the chapter sucks, it always gets better so, please, listen to Guns N' Roses, use a little Patience!  
**

**

* * *

**Everyone was at the hospital in the waiting room. Steven's mother was crying like he knew she would. He sighed, she was so dramatic. He didn't know where she got her dramatic behavior from, but whoever it was, he damned them to the deepest depths of hell. His mother's dramatic attitude had haunted him since he was young. He was never able to do anything fun. She didn't even allow him to take the training wheels off his bike until he was nine. He knew it would kill her on the inside when he decided to get a motorcycle one day.

In Steven's mind, there wasn't anything to even worry about. His sister was fine. The paramedics said so themselves. She only had a few bruises. She wasn't going to die any moment like his mother believed.

"I knew I shouldn't have let them go with you!" She sobbed, making everyone, including Ray, roll their eyes.

"Really darling, there's no reason to worry. She'll be fine. She just has a few bruises. We're only here because the paramedics said it would be best to make sure that nothing was wrong with her." Ray said, trying to make her calm down.

"I don't trust them!" She yelled back through her tears.

Everyone sighed. There was no telling Mary that she was being over-dramatic about it. Will understood her being upset by her daughter almost being defiled by some creepy old guy, but Mackenzie was fine. From what he saw, she was a very strong young girl. Besides that, they had the money to pay for therapy if they needed it. So there was no reason to act the way she was acting.

Moments later, the doctor walked out with Mackenzie. Despite everybody not worrying about her, they all got up immediately. Slade wondered in his mind why people always did that. It was sort of a weird thing that everybody did. Even though it was something quite unnecessary.

"What's wrong with her? What surgery is she going to have to take?" Steven's mother asked frantically.

"No surgery necessary. She'll be fine." The doctor responded calmly. Steven's mother wasn't fazed though.

"You're lying to try and make me feel better! Just tell me!" She yelled, nearly sending Steven over the brink of stone cold crazy.

"Like I said, no surgery necessary. She just has a few bruises. She won't be needing any surgery." The doctor responded just as calmly.

"Dear, you're overreacting. I'll pay the hospital bill and we'll get out of here." Ray said. "Thank you doctor." He said as he shook the doctor's hand. The doctor simply nodded and left as he looked at his clipboard. There were many patients with much larger problems to undertake. Besides that, he found the mother crazy and didn't want to spend any unneeded time there.

"Let's get out of here." Steven said as he grabbed his mother's shoulders from behind and pushed her forward.

* * *

When they got home, everyone except the band went to sleep. The band was still on edge from the show. That's how it always was for them. They found it nearly impossible to go to sleep after a show. So, they just watched That Metal Show in the TV room until they got tired.

Will was quite hooked on the current episode. It was the season premiere, and even though they were way past it, it was one of his favorite episodes. The season premiere was a one hour special to Ronnie James Dio. It was full of jokes, stories, and interviews of people that knew Dio. Though it was a little creepy for everyone when Rob Halford made jokes about him being gay. They didn't hate gays by any means. They just found it odd and didn't get it. They didn't understand how any guy could look at another and think he's a hot piece of meat. Then again, the mere thought of a guy holding another guy's hand was creepy to them.

After the show was over, Will got up. It was two in the morning and they had to hit the road early, so he figured that it would be best if he got some sleep.

"Good night." He said as he yawned and walked towards the door.

"Going to bed already?" Slade asked.

"We gotta hit the road at seven. I'd rather not be a crabby jerk in the morning." He responded.

"It's true. One time he stayed up all night, and by morning he was a totally different person. You would give his drink to him wrong and he'd freak out at you." Gilan explained.

"It might be best that he gets some sleep then." Steven agreed.

* * *

By morning, everyone was up and ready to go. They were all eating and getting ready to get on the road. They were more than happy that they were able to wash their clothes while they were there as well. They hadn't washed their clothes in months. And they were ready to abuse the fact that Steven's parent's had two sets of washing machines.

When they were all done, they were saying their goodbyes. Ready for the long trip that awaited them. It would definitely be a long tour. The next show would be outside at a fair. They were expecting at least twelve hundred people, but the one thing they learned over the year is that you could never trust the number of the people that were attending. A lot of the time they found that the crowd attendance wasn't half of what it was supposed to be. It was one of the frustrating things that a band had to go through, and they hated it.

When the last load of laundry was done, they all were all in the yard by the bus. Axl ran around sniffing different plants and marked his territory as the band said their goodbyes.

"Thank you for a nice weekend Ray." Will said as he shook his hand.

"No problem. Come again soon." He said.

"Axl!" Steven called. The Golden Retriever shot his head at his master and ran, or more galloped, towards Steven. He slowed down and sat down when he was in front of Steven, waiting for his master to say a command.

Steven bent down and hugged Axl. Which the dog responded with licking the back of Steven's shirt. Steven got up and rubbed his dog's ear, knowing how much he loved that. Axl wagged his tail back and forth as he licked Steven's face in response.

Steven walked towards his siblings and hugged each of them. He walked towards his father and pushed him to the side so say something.

"I realize you don't believe in it, but I recommend you put Mackenzie in therapy." He said.

His father looked at him and raised his eyebrow. "Why? She's strong. She can get over this by herself." He replied.

"Because she was almost raped. She'll be afraid of every guy around her. I know you don't get it because you're not like that, but she's a woman and she thinks differently than you."

"She'll be fin-"

"I'm saying this in fear that my sister may be afraid of men and never get married." Steven whispered fiercely, cutting his father off.

Ray looked at Steven in shock. Steven almost never raised his voice. But when he did, you knew he meant business. And Ray realized that he was playing with his daughter's future. The last thing he wanted as a father was for his daughter to fear men.

"Okay. But she'll go to therapy kicking and screaming. She thinks therapy is for the crazy and weak." Ray said.

"Everybody's gotta go somewhere doing something." Steven told Ray, Ray nodding in response.

"Well, we gotta get going. Bye." Steven said as he quickly hugged his mother and headed towards the driver's door.

"Okay. Bye dear. Come again soon." She responded as she waved.

Steven opened the door and got in. He was about to slam the door shut when Axl jumped through and landed on his lap.

"Axl! You're not a puppy anymore!" Steven said as he tried to push the dog off of him. But the dog was persistent, and wanted to go with Steven.

Ray walked up to try and help Steven, but when he reached his hand up to grab Axl the dog growled at him, warning him not to get near him.

"I think it might be best if you just let him go with you." Ray proposed as he backed up with his hands in the air.

"Axl, you're not going with us." Steven said. He grabbed Axl and picked him up. Steven dropped him carefully and slammed the door quickly, making sure Axl didn't jump in again. Axl sat down and whimpered as he saw Steven back out of the driveway. When Steven saw this a part of him died and he felt terribly guilty. However, he knew he couldn't take him no matter how much he wanted to. So he would just have to suck it up.

He waved at his family as he pulled out of the driveway. He turned right and he was on the road again.

_Ironic. I'm gone for two seconds and I'm already home sick..._

_

* * *

_A few hours of being on the road and talking finally got rid of Steven's home sickness. He couldn't help but laugh as they all sang to Will's guitar.

Will started a very recognizable riff. It was one of his favorites off of the Back In Black album.

"Whiskey jin and brandy! With a glass I'm pretty handy!" They sang.

"I'm tryin' to walk a straight line, on sour mash and cheap wine!

So join me for a drink boys! We're gonna make a big noise!

Forget about tomorrow, think of today! Forget about the check, we'll get hell to pay.

So have a drink on me!" They all sang, laughing while they drank Jack Daniels. Will looked in earnest. That was his favorite alcoholic drink, and he couldn't have a sip.

"Have a drink on me!

Have a drink on me!

Oh have a drink on me!

Have a drink on me!" They all sang.

Will stopped the song. Watching the guy's guzzle down his favorite drink was driving him crazy.

"What happened?" Mick asked.

"You guys drinking Jack Daniels is driving me crazy. Drink beer or something else I hate." He said.

"The only other drink we have is Mike's Hard Lemonade." Gilan said.

"Great..." Will responded. That was one of his other favorites. He hated beer. It tasted weird. He sometimes said it tasted like puke. Which is why he thought people drank it so fast. Causing people to get drunk in record timing.

"Don't forget the red wine and margaritas we have." Slade added.

"Uh..." Will groaned. Those were two more of his favorites. He wished he could have at least one. Touring in a band was about having a good time, and alcoholic beverages went hand in hand when it came to fun.

"That's it. Hand me a Jack Daniels and play Stiff Upper Lip." He said.

Steven nodded as he put in AC/DC's Stiff Upper Lip album and put it to track one.

Will opened the bottle Slade handed to him and guzzled half of it down immediately. It had been so long since he had a Jack Daniels, and he was satisfied to taste it once more.

"I thought you weren't supposed to drink any alcohol?" Steven asked.

"I'm almost nineteen, Steven. Did you really think I could go on for two years without this?" Will asked.

"I didn't think you would last quite that long, no." Steven answered.

"Exactly." Will said as he took another long drink.

"Won't Alyss be very upset with you?" Steven asked.

"Most likely. But I don't get why she doesn't want me to drink sometimes. I get that it's illegal, but if it was illegal to go to church she'd still go." Will said, juicing the rest of it and grabbing another one.

"Will, I get that you're all alcohol deprived and all, but you just compared booze to church." Steven said.

"Well, I like my alcohol. What can I say?" Will asked.

"Was your father an alcoholic?" Steven asked.

"My father, his father's father, and my mother's father were all big alcoholics." Will answered.

"Uh huh... So have you ever had the thought that maybe, just _maybe_, you're an alcoholic through bloodline?" Steven asked.

"Yeah. But I'm hoping it maybe skipped a generation." Will said.

"Steven, he'd have to have blood in his body to have a bloodline. From the sounds of it he has a beer-line instead." Mick said.

"True." Steven agreed. "But still, you should stop drinking so much before you end up like Bon Scott and Keith Moon."

"Look, it's just a few drinks. What harm can it do?" Will asked, enjoying the song.

"All I'm saying is be careful. The last thing we need is for the guitarist of the band to die. No guitarist sounds the same. And I guarantee we won't find a guitarist that likes the same music." Steven said as he passed a car on the freeway. He waited for a response but when he got none he became concerned. "Will are you listening to me?" He asked. After no response he looked behind and saw Will with Slade and Gilan having a drinking contest in the back.

"I wonder what happens when you mix Jack Daniels, wine, a margarita and a Mike's Hard Lemonade into one big drink..." Will said as he started mixing them all up into one big drink.

* * *

Six hours later the band found themselves in Carson City Nevada. Which was of course the place where they would play their next show. Steven pulled into a gas station and parked at one of the gas pumps. As he pulled the keys out of the ignition he looked back to see if anyone survived the drinking contests.

"Hey guys, we're at a gas station." Steven called.

He heard groans from everyone as they slowly got up and held their foreheads.

"I told you not to drink so much." Steven said.

They slowly walked down towards the door, and as Steven opened it, the heat came in like a ton of bricks.

"When did we reach hell?" Will asked.

"About an hour ago. Get used to the heat though. This is an outside show we're doing." Steven answered.

"Why'd we choose the hottest place on the planet to play at?" Slade asked.

"We didn't choose it. It chose us. Now go and stretch your legs. Maybe buy some coffee and Tylenol while you're at it." Steven suggested.

"Not a bad idea." Mick said as he slowly followed everyone out of the bus.

Will and Slade looked up at the sun at the immense heat. It had to be at least one hundred and ten degrees. "This is what Bon was talking about when he wrote Highway To Hell." Will said.

"Ironically enough, Highway To Hell is about a very hot part of Australia they used to tour at." Slade commented in response as he followed Will to the store.

"I know. That's what I meant." Will said as he held the door for everyone. He looked back; Steven was at the gas pump. He felt a little guilty for drinking so much and abandoning his friend. So he figured he'd make it up somehow.

He looked back to the door and followed Mick in. He was relieved when cold air hit him. He was never one for heat. He loved the snow. And he was rather disappointed when the holidays came and there was nothing but sun. That's when he realized that after the band got more successful, he was going to move to a place with a lot of snow. Preferably Britain.

"Welcome to Quick Shop." The lady at the cash register said as they all entered.

"I thought you were going to say 'Welcome to hell' for a moment." Gilan said.

The lady stared at him for a moment, obviously not appreciating Gilan's humor. "I don't appreciate that kind of talk in my store." She said, an obvious tone in her voice.

Gilan stared at her in bewilderment as he heard everyone else's snicker's. "I was simply making a joke." He stated.

"Well I don't care for your kind of jokes." She replied sternly.

"Well I'm sorry, but those are just my sort of jokes." He said, wondering what this lady's problem was.

"I don't care. I said I didn't like that sort of humor and I better not hear that language again." She stated, just making everyone more and more confused.

Everyone just walked around and looked for things to buy as Steven pumped gas into the car. Will found some Tylenol and got some coffee, much to his despair. He was never one for coffee. He'd tried it in all kinds of ways. With honey, adding sugar to it, every time he didn't like the taste. But, if it's what was going to mend his headache, it was going to have to do.

After a few minutes Steven walked in the store with sweat on his forehead.

"This is definitely the highway to hell." He stated.

"Out of my store." The lady at the cash register said, pointing her finger at Steven.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"You heard me. I said out. All of you. Out!" She yelled, picking up the phone in some sort of threat that she'd call the cops if she had to.

"But, I have to pay for ga-"

"Use a credit card." She said.

"I don't have one." Steven replied, eyes open wide in confusion.

"Than pay me and get out of here!" She yelled in annoyance.

Steven jumped up towards her in fear when she yelled and got out his wallet. He gave her exact change so he wouldn't have to spend extra time in there and ran out of the store with the rest of the guys as they laughed.

"Is it bad that we're running away in fear from a woman?" Slade asked.

"No. It's a scary woman." Steven answered.

They all jumped in the bus and Steven put the keys into the ignition, driving out of their as fast as possible.

When Steven got to the end of the parking lot he didn't even stop for cars and slammed on the gas pedal as he dodged traffic from both sides.

Everyone fell over at Steven's wild turning, trying to regain their balance but stumbling once again as Steven took a wild turn in the other direction.

"Steven? Why are you trying to kill us?" Gilan asked.

"I'm not. I'm trying to amuse myself and get revenge for six hours of pure silence." He answered.

"Well if you don't stop being amused you'll get six hundred dollars of pure driving ticket!" Will yelled as he held onto the couch as he stumbled to the side.

* * *

They found a Holiday Inn close by the show they would be doing and checked in. Steven was tired and he needed a good hour of sleep before they played the show. It was six o,clock and they wouldn't be playing for another two hours. Besides that, everyone needed to sleep on a real bed. Though Will had previously thought the thin mattress would be fine, but he didn't realize that they destroyed backs after a while.

Will laid down on the comfortable mattress and exhaled in content. He took out his wallet and looked at a picture of Alyss. He was definitely enjoying his time on the tour, but he felt somewhat lonely without the person he'd spend everyday with. The guys would always laugh at him, but he would get his revenge once they found a woman they liked. In the meantime, he would have to deal with the comments in light that he would one day be able to do the same to them.

* * *

They all woke up by an alarm going off one hour later and they knew it was time to get ready. They walked out of the room and headed down the hallway, soon reaching the elevator. As they stood in the elevator, Will got sick of the silence.

"What are we going to play today?" He asked.

"I don't know. What are you guys in the mood for?" Steven asked.

"We should definitely play the songs we made." Slade said, and everyone agreed.

"Of course. But what else?" Steven asked.

"I'm thinking a little Motley Crue. Perhaps Girls Girls Girls, Live Wire, Shout At The Devil, good ol' songs like that." Mick suggested.

"Okay. What if we start with Shout At The Devil, and go into We're All Gonna Die?" Gilan asked.

"Sounds good to me." Slade answered.

"I think we should play Guns N' Roses as well. I mean, we haven't played any of the good Guns songs that we all love. Nightrain, Welcome To The Jungle, good Appetite era sort of stuff." Will said.

"Okay. I feel good with that." Steven said. "But it's a shame we haven't played much Alice Cooper either. So we should play something from the early days like Long Way To Go." He said.

They all exited the elevator and ran out the main lobby into what they commonly referred to as "hell".

"How people are able to live in this godforsaken desert is beyond me." Slade stated when the heat hit them.

"As long as the desert pays well, I'll be fine." Steven commented.

"Now, back to the music, what else?" Will asked.

"I feel it's an injustice we haven't played any Aerosmith yet." Gilan said.

"So we should play Movin' Out and perhaps Back In The Saddle?" Will asked.

"Sounds good to me. But we really need to write this down here." Steven said as they entered the bus.

* * *

As they drove down the road towards their destination they wrote down the songs and made sure they knew all of them. They had re-arranged it a bit and overall they were quite satisfied with the results.

"So let's see here." Will started. "I want to make sure you guys are fine with the order of the songs here." He stated. "It goes Welcome To The Jungle, Shout At The Devil, Come On Feel The Noise, Nightrain, Love In An Elevator, Girls Girls Girls, What Do You Do For Money Honey, School's Out, Long Way To Go, Stiff Upper Lip, Guns N' Roses' Knockin' On Heaven's Door, T.N.T, We're All Gonna Die, and then By The Sword." Will stated as he read down the list of songs they had formed. "Is that fine by everyone?" He asked.

"Sounds good. Do you have anything in mind that you might want to add?" Steven asked.

Will thought for a moment. "Nothing really. I think the list we have is perfect." Will said.

"I believe so too." Mick said.

"Good. We'll go with this list then." Will said. After he was done writing the list, he leaned back and relaxed his muscles. He knew he'd be sore the in the morning. The show they planned to put on was going to be extraordinary.

* * *

As they reached their destination and Steven parked the bus, everyone except Steven headed to the back to get the equipment. Steven needed to find the guy that was running everything and he would return shortly. Though there wasn't a lot, right before the tour they'd bought top of the line equipment. High dollar Marshall amps, two hundred dollar microphones, three-hundred fifty dollar wireless guitar cords, brand new drum heads and hardware, the works. They didn't cheap out for the tour. But they figured it would all pay out in the end.

To many people's surprise, they didn't buy any guitar pedals or foot switches. Will and Mick hated pedals and foot switches. In their opinion, if you needed all that to sound good than you shouldn't be in the business in the first place. It was ridiculous and they refused to have any part in "wasting money" as they put it. As they lugged all the heavy half stacks out of the bus they waited in the front for Steven to show up with instructions.

* * *

Steven walked through the crowd of people, trying to find the man in charge. So far, every time he asked he couldn't find anyone who knew where he was. He looked at his watch and cursed in his mind. There was only twenty five minutes left and the guy was nowhere in sight.

_He better have a good excuse for not being around..._

He picked up the pace, running instead of walking. He looked around, calling out the guy's name and asking people if they knew where he was.

Twenty minutes later, Steven became a bit frantic. He ran around the stage, looking to see if he was maybe there. But the man was still nowhere in sight. Steven sighed.

_I should've joined the Army..._

He ran back to the tour bus and the guys got up from sitting down on the amps at the sight of Steven.

"Steven, where have you been? Did you find the guy?" Will asked.

Steven shook his head annoyance. "I can't find the guy anywhere and we're supposed to play in two minutes." Steven answered. He looked around and saw a guy he thought might be him and ran towards him.

"Are you the guy in charge of this?" Steven asked.

The man looked at him with annoyance in his eyes. "Yes, I am. Are you the band that Eddy assured me was always on time?" He asked.

Steven looked at him and the hell fires raised in his eyes. "Are you kidding me? We got here twenty five minutes ago! I couldn't find you anywhere!" Steven yelled.

The man was shocked and realized he was out of line. "Now now, no need to yell. I'm just on edge. There's some people from Geffen Records and Eddy told me he'd kill me if I didn't make sure everything went well." He explained.

Steven calmed down and realized the great importance of the show. "We should be playing now. What do you think we should do?" Steven asked.

The man gave a reassuring smile, and Steven knew he had something in mind. "Don't you worry. I have the greatest crew in the world here. They'll get everything prepared in ten minutes. You just worry about getting warmed up and we'll worry about your equipment." He said.

Steven nodded and shook his hand. "Okay. Thank you." He said.

The man smiled as he shook Steven's hand. "Don't worry about a thing. The name is Bruce, by the way." He said.

Steven nodded his head and ran back. When the the guys saw him they got up from sitting on the amps.

"What's going on?" Slade asked.

"Get warmed up. We've got ten minutes."

* * *

Everyone got their instruments out except Steven. He just warmed up his arms by drumming on a leather chair. The crew, about thirty guys in all, ran and got all the equipment earlier. Everyone was amazed at the sheer speed of them. They were there and then gone within fifteen seconds, and the band knew they were in good hands.

Will decided he'd go with his Les Paul for this day. He'd grown much more attached to it than his SG. And he figured that if there was going to be people from Geffen, he should play the instrument that learned to play with and poured his heart into. He agreed, Les Paul's were sometimes far to costly. But he'd gotten a good deal with this one. It had a beautiful vintage sunburst finish with Classic 57' pickups. And he could never get his mind off the slim neck with it's trapezoid inlays. He was just happy that Steven talked him into cleaning all of the hand prints on it.

As they were all just about the closest thing to warmed up, Bruce walked over. "Alright. We're ready if you're ready." He said.

They all got up and walked with Bruce to the stage. The stage itself was big. It wasn't anything like they were used to. It gave them the room to do many things. But they felt that the crowd itself was what got them excited.

"How many people are here?" Steven asked.

"More than anticipated." Bruce answered. "About three thousand. Maybe more. Something rather unusual for a band that's only been playing for a year." He said.

"Three thousand? That's two times more than there was supposed to be." Will answered.

"Nice to know you can do math." Bruce said, and everyone realized that Bruce was their kind of person: Sarcastic. Sarcasm was their band's trademark, as far as anyone in the band was concerned. Each and every one of them was sarcastic. A lot of people loved them and hated them for it. And they got along fine with anyone that was the same.

When they reached the stage, Bruce turned around and shook Steven's hand. "I believe you don't need any introduction." He said. "Break a leg."

Bruce walked away and the band walked up the stairs. The crowd let out an unbelievable roar. They no longer felt the nervousness of forgetting a part of a song. They'd gone through too many shows to have that anymore. Now they had all the confidence in the world, and they were ready to play.

Everyone plugged in their instruments when the crew gave them their plug ins and went to their corners of the stage. Steven realized that Eddy had told Bruce how to design the stage. Their was a high rise for the drums, which nobody ever did unless they were under direction of someone like Eddy. And he needed to thank Eddy for that later.

Slade walked up to the microphone, ready to start the show. "Are you guys gonna make some noise tonight?" He asked, pointing the mic at the crowd right after. He smiled as Will started the intro to Welcome To The Jungle.

"Oh my God." Slade said.

Mick then started to play his part of the song, and before long, one of the best moments of the song came.

"Cha!" Slade said in a fierce whisper, and the main riff started.

It was a heavy riff; with roots that go to back to AC/DC's Back In Black album. And everyone got more and more intro it as they played it.

"Welcome to the jungle, we got fun n' games! We got everything you want, honey we know the names.

We are the people that can find, whatever you may need. If you got money honey we got your disease.

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle watch it bring it to your, shun, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, knees, knees! Whoa I, I wanna watch you bleed!

Welcome to the jungle, we take it day by day. If you want it you're gonna bleed, but that's the price you pay.

And you're a very sexy girl, that's very hard to please. You can taste the bright lights but you won't get them for free.

In the jungle, Welcome To The Jungle, feel my, my, my, my serpentine! Whoa, I, I wanna hear you scream!"

Will started a very short solo as he stood at the front of the stage with Slade, looking down at the neck of his Les Paul.

Will was born into a very discreet family. He was never known as the "cool guy". At school, he had one friend. And every girl he'd went out with would spread a lie around high school to humiliate him. He didn't know when to say the right things, or what the right things to say were. But when he went on the stage, he left his "uncool" behavior at the steps, and became a Rock guitarist in a famous band. It was Will's only time to be the "cool guy". And he always felt playing onstage didn't come fast enough, and it went it did, it went too fast.

"Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here everyday. You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play.

If you got a hunger for what you see, you'll take it eventually. You can have anything you want but you better not take it from me.

In the jungle, Welcome To The Jungle watch it bring it to your, shun, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, knees, knees! Whoa, I'm gonna watch you bleed!" Slade sang, Will almost immediately playing a soft chord, making the song currently go in a different direction.

"When you're high you never, ever want to go down, so down, so down, so down, _yeah! Oh!_ Ow!" Slade sang, Will starting the much longer solo.

As Will played he stood in place, rocking back in forth. He knew that everyone was probably wondering why he wasn't doing the duck walk, but that was simply because he felt that he was in a different band, and it would make him look like an idiot if he tried to be _just _like Angus Young. He figured that if Angus Young saw him, he'd look in disapproval. Being influenced by a band is good, but _trying _to be a band wasn't. So he figured he'd live with the fact he'd never be Angus Young.

When the solo ended, a progression of all the instruments combined started, and it once again went into a different direction.

"You know where you are? You're in the jungle baby! You're gonna _die!_

Oh in the jungle! Welcome to the jungle! Watch it bring it to your, shun,n, n, n, n, n, n, n, , knees knees!

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle. Feel my, my, my, my serpentine!

In the jungle! Welcome to the jungle! Watch it bring it to your, shun, n, n, n, n, n, n, n, knees, knees!

Down in the jungle, welcome to the jungle watch it bring it to your, it's gonna bring you, down! Huh!" Slade sang as he slid on his knees at the last part, the entire song ending in turn.

The crowd roared violently. The crowd was blown back by the performance, and they wanted more.

The band simply smiled. They knew how good they sounded. But everyone was especially amazed at Slade. He sounded almost exactly like Axl Rose. And Will was going to comment on that after the show.

* * *

They were standing on the stage, having just finished their second song of the night, Shout At The Devil. Will had given Mick the privilege of playing the solo, since Mick liked Motley Crue so much. They were all content that the crowd was buying into their material. But none of them could help but notice Bruce talking to those people from Geffen. They didn't know what they were talking about, but they figured they'd find out after the show and just left it at that.

Steven started the drum intro to their song Come On Feel The Noise as Slade clapped his hands, encouraging the crowd to do the same.

"Come on feel the noise, girls rock your boys. We'll get wild, wild, wild. Wild, wild, wild." Slade sang, everyone then starting their parts of the song.

So you think I got an evil mind, I tell you honey, I don't know why. I don't know why.

So you think my singin's out of time, It makes me money. And I don't know why, I don't know why, anymore, oh no."

"So come on feel the noise. Girls, rock your boys. We'll get wild, wild, wild. Wild, wild, wild.

Come on feel the noise, girls, rock your boys. We'll get wild, wild, wild." The whole band sang, forcing everyone to share two microphones.

"So you say I got a funny face, I got no worries. And I don't, know why. I don't know why.

Oh I gotta sing with some disgrace, I'm in no hurry. And I don't, know, why. I don't, know, why. Anymore, oh no." Slade sang, dominating the stage like he was famed for doing.

"So come on, feel the noise. Girls, rock your boys. We'll get wild, wild, wild. Wild, wild, wild.

Come on, feel, the noise. Girls, rock your boys. We'll get wild, wild, wild. Wild, wild, wild."

Will started the co-solo with Mick. Mick had made it, which Will was fine with, but it had a lot to do with sweep picking. Will _hated _sweep picking. He liked slow, soulful solos. with some bending. Which, ironically, bending is what had to do with the small scar on his face.

Will and Mick went up to the front of the stage. They bent down at the very edge and got somewhat dangerously to the crowd. Someone made a move to grab the neck of Mick's Fender, but he was quick to respond and got out of the way in time.

He walked a few steps back and Will followed suit. He ran across the stage like he once saw his hero Slash do, and stopped at the right wing of it. He was amazed; he'd never thought he'd taste the same glorious victory Slash had. He knew he had nowhere near the popularity and skill of Slash, but simply playing on a stage with a roaring crowd made him feel like it.

"Well you think we have a lazy time. You should know better. I don't, know why. I don't, know why.

So you say I got a dirty mind, I'm a mean, go getter.

I don't know why. I don't know why, anymore. Oh whoa."

"Come On feel the noise. Girls, rock your boys. We'll get wild, wild, wild. Wild, wild, wild." They all sang, no instruments playing except Steven's drums.

Come on, feel the noise. Girls, rock your boys. We'll get wild, wild, wild, and wild!

Come on, (come on) feel it! Girls rock your boys, (come on, rock it!)  
We'll get wild, wild, wild. We're gonna get wild! (wild, wild, wild) We're gonna get rocked tonight. (Come on feel the noise).

Rock it tonight. (girls rock your boys). We'll get wild, wild, wild. Oh yeah!

Ah, ah, ah. Ah, ah, ah." They sang, Mick then starting the outro solo.

"Come on feel the noise, girls rock your boys! We'll get wild, wild, wild."

When the song ended, everyone was breathing heavily. It was one of the few songs where all of them sang a lot. And the heat certainly didn't help.

But, the crowd's definite approval was making it all worth it.

* * *

It was nearing the end of the show; everyone was sweaty and exhausted. But they were relieved to know there was only a few songs left. And they were definitely happy that the sun was going down. Making it a "cool" ninety degrees.

But this concert showed more of the "bad boy-ness" of the band, seeing as how none of them had shirts on. Which, a lot of the lady's couldn't help but enjoy.

Will started the intro to Guns N' Roses' version of Knockin' On Heaven's Door, which everyone liked a lot more than the original.

But Slade was definitely relieved that it was a slow, soft song. And he wouldn't have to scream his lungs out for the most of it.

"Momma, take this badge from me. I can't use it, anymore." Slade sang. "It's gettin' dark, too dark to see. Feel's like I'm Knockin' On Heaven's Door.

"Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door. Hey, hey, hey hey yeah. Knock knock knockin' on Heaven's door. Whoa oh, whoa oh, whoa whoa yeah.

Knock knock knockin' on Heaven's door. Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door, whoa whoa yeah.

Whoa, whoa yeah. Whoa yeah." Slade sang, using more of a gruffness at the second part of the chorus.

Will started one of the few small solos that were in the song. Since the song was more on the slow side, nobody did any aggressive head banging. Everyone simply rocked from side to side softly, sometimes walking around.

"Momma, put my guns in the ground. I can't shoot them, anymore. That cold black cloud is, comin' down. Feel's like I'm knockin' on Heaven's door."

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door. Hey, hey, hey hey yeah. Knock knock knockin' on Heaven's door, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa yeah.

Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door. Knock knock knockin' on heaven's, door, whoa whoa yeah." Slade sang, everyone accompanying him in the chorus. And as they ended, Will started the second solo, which was a lot longer and more complex. Something Slash was rather famous for.

When he was over, everyone stopped playing except Gilan and Steven, making it a slow, simple but amazing rhythm.

"All right." Slade said as he walked around from the microphone, having launched the microphone's stand like a spear during What Do You Do For Money Honey.

"Do you know what time it is now?" He asked. "It's time for you to help us a little bit by singing with us. I'll sing, and then you'll sing. We'll be doing this a few times." He explained. "I was pretty disappointed with the crowd last time we did this song so, make you you guys don't make us mark this as one of the shows not to return to." He said.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door." He sang softly, then pointing the mic to the crowd.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door." The crowd sang.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door." He sang a little more fiercely.

"Knock knock knockin' on Heaven's door." The crowd sang a little louder.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door!" He sang a lot more fiercely, then pointing it to the crowd.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door." The crowd sang just as loud as last time, making Slade somewhat disappointed.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door! Come on a little louder."

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door!" The crowd sang louder, but Slade still wasn't content.

"There's a lot of people here. We got one more left. Let's blow up the speaker's on this one." Slade said, getting ready.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door! Let this one be loud!" He yelled.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door!" The crowd yelled, Slade accompanying them on the last two words as the song began again.

"Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door. Knock knock knockin' on heaven's door. Knock knock knockin' on heavens, door! Whoa whoa! Whoa whoa yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Slade sang, the song tuning out as it ended.

Slade nearly stumbled into the crowd when a guy ran into him, the security then running after.

Everyone had stupid smiles on their faces. They were so high on adrenaline and power that none of them were able to stop the stupid smiles on their faces. But when they thought about it, there wasn't a reason not to smile, so they simply went with it.

* * *

The band had just played We're All Gonna Die, and were ready to end the show with their most famous song, By The Sword.

"All right." Slade started. "This next song is another song we made. You may have heard of it. It's a song called By The Sword." He said, the crowd then started to cheer, and no one knew if that meant they'd heard it or they wanted to hear another song they made.

Steven started hitting one of the Tom Toms slowly and rhythmically as Will started the guitar intro.

"With the horses that you ride. And the feeling's left inside, comes a time you need to leave all that behind.

Where they claim they'd like to know, anyone could let you go, and the people gather round for the last show.

Where there is a reward, to live and die by the sword. Well they tried to complicate you, but you left it all behind.

All worldly possessions, are left for recollections. And finally it's all gone. Come on." Slade sang softly, Will then putting his toggle switch to the lead position and started his famous heavy riff.

"They're releasing all the hounds. What is less could still be found. When you hop up on your feet you're always down.

Well there's some who choose to run. Far away the setting sun. And now it seems the journey, has begun.

Well there is a reward, to live and die by the sword. Well they tried to complicate you, but you left it all behind.

All worldly possessions, are left for recollections. And finally, it's gone." Slade sang, a complex part of the song following after. And eventually Will's solo started.

It was a slow solo, and the only thing playing other than him was Steven's drums, and occasionally a strum by Mick's guitar. Eventually, it became an intense solo with everyone playing.

The solo was Will's favorite part. It took him forever to write it. It was very complex, and required a lot of jumping all over the neck. But once he made it, and played it correctly, he was proud of himself, for he truly made a masterpiece.

"Oh, with the horses that you ride. And the feelings left inside. Comes a time you need to leave all that behind!

Well there is a reward, to live and die by the sword. Well they tried to complicate you, but you left it all behind.

All worldly possessions, are left for recollections. When finally it's gone." Slade sang, following by Will and Mick playing the heavy riff again. They played it until the end of the song, when they all played a chord at the same time and let it ring out.

Everyone went to the front of the stage, arms over each others shoulders, and they held their instruments up to the crowd as it cheered them on. They all still had the stupid smiles they had on earlier, and they eventually slowly walked off the stage.

As they walked off the stage, they were greeted by Bruce and the people from Geffen he was talking about.

"Extraordinary show guys. We're very impressed." Bruce said as he shook their hands. "This is John Sackett and Blaze Bailey from Geffen." Bruce introduced as they shook hands.

"We're going to make you stars." John said.

"Great. Where do we sign?" Slade asked, making Blaze chuckle a bit.

"We'll be setting up the contracts tonight. Where might we contact you?" He asked.

"At the Holiday Inn on Broadway street." Steven answered.

"Great. We'll just set up a two record deal and see where it takes you guys. What were your names again?" He asked.

"I'm Steven Thompson, this is Mick Mars, Will... Will, what is your last name?" Steven asked.

"Will Rose." He answered, getting looks of questions from all over.

"Also known as Chia Pet." Gilan chimed in, receiving a glare from Will.

"Uh, I'm Slade Valentine." Slade answered, still looking at Will oddly.

"And I'm Gilan Cooper." Gilan said.

"I see. Uh, did you say your name was Mick Mars?" Blaze asked, putting emphasis on the name.

"Uh, yeah. My mother was a big fan of Motley Crue." He answered.

"I see." Blaze said. "Well, here is our number. We'll be in contact. Does any of you by chance have a cell phone?" He asked.

"Yes, I do." Steven answered, handing him a card with his number on it, making everyone look at him in question.

"Great. We'll call you tomorrow morning. You won't be leaving for another show soon will you?" He asked.

"Not until a show we'll have in Seattle on Friday." Steven answered.

"Good. We'll try to set up a contract by tomorrow night. Until then, celebrate the festival. Have a few drinks." John said.

"That sounds great but, we have to get back to the hotel and get some sleep. Maybe take some showers." Steven said.

"Okay. That's fine. See you tomorrow." Blaze said.

"Alright. Looking forward to it." Slade said as they all shook hands and headed off.

Bruce and his crew helped put all the equipment back in the tour bus and shook hands with the band. "Thanks again. Here's your pay check." Bruce said as he shook their hands.

"Thanks Bruce. We'll have to be in contact. You really know how to rally up a crowd." Steven said.

"Thanks but, the only reason there was twice the crowd is because Eddy made sure I put a poster on every street. It was some strenuous work but, it all payed out I think." He said.

"Alright well, we gotta get going. There's a nice hot tub with my name on it." Slade said.

"Okay. Congratulations on winning your new record company." Bruce said with his British accent.

* * *

**Now, to stop a few common theories, I have never written a song ever. Meaning none of these songs are mine. The one song I kind of wrote but can't take much credit off of is My Way Or The Highway, which I came up with the idea and chorus as Rowana Renee, well, did all the hard work. :P**

**So no, I've tried and failed. I've never been able to write a song. I just don't have the ability. I have the language and art theory to do it, but I'm lacking imagination and tolerance of wanting to kill yourself as you try to write songs.**

**However, I have made a few songs on the guitar. The first few sucked, but as I got more used to it they started to get good. At least, that's what my feedback is. Which, no, is not my family.**

**But anyways, (I think that's the sentence I've said most on my stories...) I think it was a pretty successful chapter. Over ten thousand words like I promised. Some good things happened, some bad things happened. More Rock N' Roll lifestyle going on and such. **

**Tell me if you liked the new writing style of the songs. I've gone through a few, and I think this one is the best. But, I'm simply the author. I need feedback from the fans.**

**Here are all the links from the songs mentioned in this chapter: **

.com/watch?v=yajU0oeMJo4 (Slash: By The Sword. The personal video I use)

.com/watch?v=YL82-Cr0ixQ (Alice Cooper: Long Way To Go. An amazing underrated song. Which you will see me say in the comment section)

.com/watch?v=qga5eONXU_4 (Alice Cooper: School's Out)

.com/watch?v=Qyf8oRF6Trg (Guns N' Roses: Nightrain)

.com/watch?v=92p9JH5qqE8 (Guns N' Roses: Knockin' On Heaven's Door Live. The very version I used to do this chapter)

.com/watch?v=FSUXdWCq5kk (Quiet Riot: Come On Feel The Noise)

.com/watch?v=eWXRintPmGQ (Guns N' Roses: Welcome To The Jungle)

.com/watch?v=faNA2ZmZtlA (AC/DC: What Do You Do For Money Honey)

.com/watch?v=V9fLcwmo8vU (AC/DC: Stiff Upper Lip)

.com/watch?v=b1SJWBREn8o (AC/DC: Have A Drink On Me)

.com/watch?v=aqO8LpE0GU4 (Motley Crue: Shout At The Devil)

**I'm sick of doing these so... If you want to hear a song than just look through here, find a song that sounds interesting, and go to Youtube...**

**But remember, in the words of AC/DC, It's A Long Way To The Top If You Wanna Rock N' Roll! Dang it...**

.com/watch?v=H1iR2Wi3u5o


	10. Chapter 10

**Alright! Another day, another chapter. **

**I have a problem... I can't stop watching LOST! I just can't! I've been watching it nonstop for over two months! I have all six seasons on Netflix and I can't bloody stop! I'm already on season six! *Sobs* I'm a junky!**

**But uh, now that we're on the topic of it, who's your favorite character? My list goes like so: Number five, Sayid, number four Jack, number three Sawyer, number two, Desmond, and number one is, of course, Charlie. If it hadn't been for him and his jokes, I don't know how else I'd be wasting my life. I'm just sad he had to, *Le gasp* DIE... *Sobs uncontrollably*  
**

**But anywho, I'm going to shut up. But remember, I'm the one they call Dr. Feelgood!  
**

* * *

Everyone woke up the next morning, holding their foreheads in pain. After the show, they drank Jack and Sprite in celebration of their new record label. But, not too shockingly, it went a little far.

Will rolled off the bed and headed towards the bathroom with his small gym bag of clothes. The clothes he wore at that moment were full of sweat and Jack. But, that was simply life on the road. They never would have thought it before, but life on the road wasn't all fun and games. Bar fights, driving, drinking, and Rock n' Roll were a dangerous drink once mixed. But, if you were up to the task, it wasn't too hard to undertake.

Once he was done with his shower he just sat on his bed, staring at Steven's cell phone.

"Why haven't they called yet? They said they'd call in the morning." He complained

"Will, it's eight. They'll call soon. Just watch TV or something." Steven said.

Will simply sighed and watched the TV, bored to tears. He hated TV for the most part. He never grew up with it, so he didn't find the need for it. He could understand watching TV once in a while, but he wanted to kill the people that watched it everyday like it was so important. The way Will saw it, there was a world out there with endless possibilities. All you needed to do was reach beyond your grasp, and you'd find something. But that wasn't something that was possible at that moment, so he just laid his head down and closed his eyes.

* * *

After about thirty minutes, everyone's head shot up at the phone ringing.

Steven walked up and opened it. "Hello dad."

"Aw..." Everyone said in bitter disappointment.

_"Hello. Your mother wanted me to check on how the show last night went." _Ray responded.

"It was a great show. The crowd loved it. But I think the most exciting part was the record deal we got from Geffen." He said, unable to hide the smile that went across his face.

There was a silence on the other end of the line for a few moments, making Steve a bit worried. _"Wait a minute," _He started. _"You got a record deal? How did that happen?" _He asked.

"The guy that set up all our shows told Geffen to send some guys down for a show and see what they thought." Steven answered. "And anyway, they liked it, and they're going to call us so we can come down and set up a deal." He explained.

_"Okay, I'm still confused here. You've been a band for a year. How on God's green earth did you get a record deal this quickly?" _He asked.

"I don't know. You act as if it's been a day. A year is enough time I think."

_"I'm just saying, in the old days, it sometimes took ten years to get a record deal." _Ray said.

"Well, that's great for the old days. But nowadays, you can get a record deal in sometimes three months. It's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time." Steven explained.

Ray sighed, a handsome dose of amazement and confusion going on in his head. _"Alright. I'm just, confused with the times I suppose." _He said.

"Alright, well, party, have a scotch, do whatever. We're waiting for an important phone call." Steven said.

_"Alright. Call me if you see something fishy in the contract." _Ray said.

"Okay. Tell mom I said hi." Steven said, flipping the phone closed.

"What'd your dad have to say?" Gilan asked.

"Nothing, he's just confused as to how we got a record deal this quick." Steven answered.

"Seems like his character." Slade said.

"Yeah, well, he's just him. Get used to it." Steven simply said.

"Will, about last night..." Gilan started, getting way off track.

"Yes?" Will asked.

"You said you're name was William Rose. You're last name isn't Rose." He said.

"Yeah, but they don't know that. And nobody will care once I change my name." Will responded. "Besides, what was up with the Gilan Cooper thing?" Will asked.

"I don't know. I guess I didn't want them to know what my real name was." Gilan answered.

They sat on the beds for another hour, talking, drinking, and just waiting. Everyone almost fell asleep again when they heard Steven's phone ring.

He jumped up and ran, grabbing the phone. He was about to open it when Mick stopped him.

"Steven wait!" He yelled. "You don't want to seem desperate." He said.

"Right." Steven slowly said. "Will, if this is your girlfriend, you better start running." Steven said.

Will crossed his fingers in front of him, mouthing "Please don't be Alyss, please don't be Alyss".

Steven opened the phone, taking in a breath. "Hello?" He asked.

_"Yes, this is Blaze Bailey from Geffen. Is this Steven Thompson?"_

"Uh, yes, this is Steven Thompson." _  
_

_"We wanted you to come by our office so we could set up a deal." _The voice said.

"Good. Where is your office located exactly?" Steven asked.

_"It's just down on First Street. Just drive down Main, take a left at the first stop light, and it'll be there." _Blaze answered.

"Alright, good to know. We'll be there soon." Steven said, waiting a moment and then closing the phone.

"What's the news?" Will asked.

"Hop in the bus. We're headed to First Street."

* * *

When they arrived, they all had leather jackets and dark sunglasses on. They somehow felt that if they didn't look like a gang of Hell's Angels they wouldn't be able to close the deal.

They opened the door and came in one by one, not a smile on any of them. They were trying to pull off the bad boy look, which they knew was working because they got a good response from a few females.

They recognized two men in suits walking towards them as Blaze Bailey and John Sackett.

"Hello." Blaze said as he offered his hand.

"Nice to see you guys again." Slade said as he shook it.

"What do you say we get into the office and take a look at the contract we've set up." John proposed.

"Sounds like a plan." Slade said, following them soon after.

"We were very pleased by the show you guys did last night." John said. "You guys played the Classic stuff, and a bit of what I assume is your own material." He added. "You guys had soul, you guys were exciting. Something the Rock N' Roll world needs today. I haven't seen anything like it since I saw my first Guns N' Roses concert. I wanted to sign them immediately." He said. "And I'm going to make sure you guys get on the right track."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. "You're the one who signed Guns N' Roses?" Will asked.

"Well, it was me, along with Tom Zutaut." He answered.

Will was analyzing John and Blaze, taking in their character. The man known as John Sackett was a bit old, probably in his sixties, with white balding hair, a few wrinkles, wearing a gray suit. He striked Will as a man who'd done a few deals, and a man who didn't lose his cool easily. And he thought that he was a man who you could trust.

Blaze had black hair, a straight nose, and was wearing a blue suit. Probably in his mid thirties, He was a bit of a tall man, taller than Slade by a few inches. He seemed new to the business, but was very welcoming. He was probably under the direction of John, who you could tell knew a thing or two about record deals.

Yes, Will had a good feeling. He felt these two were able to be trusted, and he was excited to get into the studio.

"Have a seat, gentleman." John said as he and Blaze went behind their desk.

Everyone sat down on the rather comfortable chairs, leaning back, waiting to see what these guys had to say.

"As I said earlier, you guys are bringing the old stuff back. And we appreciate that. We've been setting up this contract," He said, handing a piece of paper to Slade." And we think that we should a two record deal and see where that takes you." He explained.

Slade looked at it for a moment, raised his eyebrows, and handed it to Steven. He felt that he wasn't the one who should be analyzing the contract.

Steven read through every word on every line. It was a short, one page contract, which he appreciated. It was less of a headache that way.

_"...Full use of expressing music any way they like, blah blah blah..." _Steven said in his mind, nearing the end. _"...We give the band members full use to make any changes in the music they please, and restrict ourselves from being able to change lyrics, sound, and rhythm, thank God I'm about done... Two record contract, blah blah blah, and... done." _

"Well, I read the contract," Steven started. "And I saw no problems at all. I believe that we can sign this with absolutely no regrets, and I look forward to going into the studio with you." Steven stated, a warm smile appearing on both John and Blaze's faces.

"We're happy to hear that. But, there's one thing we wanted to know if you could do." John said, making everyone raise their eyebrows.

"And that is...?" Slade asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well," John started. "the name." He said. "We hate it."

"You want us to get rid of the name?" Will asked. "But, it's our name. We've had it for a year. We can't just change it." Will defended.

"Even then, it's not a good one. I'll give you this, it's better than Lady Gaga, but we just don't like it." Blaze said.

Everyone thought in quiet for a moment, thinking. "Well, it is just a name..." Slade said.

"That is true... Will, what do you think?" Steven asked.

Will was silent for a moment, trying to think. "I, I guess we could change it. But what would we change it to? It took us two weeks of throwing names around to try and find our current name." He said.

"Well, there is a name that I came up with when I was young that always stuck with me." Slade said. "I didn't propose it a year ago because I thought maybe you guys would think it was stupid, but, what about Sons Of Thunder?"

Everyone thought about it, taking a liking to it. "I think it would work." Will said. But Mick cut in.

"Although that would work great, there's a biker group named Sons Of Thunder that would bash our heads in if we took it." Mick said.

Everyone was silent for a moment, trying to think. "We can give you more time to think of one. It just looks better on paper to have the name now." John said.

"I'm sure we can find something that we like before we leave." Will said. "We want it to sound powerful, but majestic in a way."

Suddenly, a spark came on in Mick's head. "Slade, what was the name you proposed before?"

Slade looked up. "Sons Of Thunder. Why?" He asked.

"What if we named the band Thunderhead?" Mick asked, and suddenly everyone's face brightened.

"Brilliant. Bloody brilliant." Blaze said. "I love it. What do you think John?" He asked.

"Just like you said, bloody brilliant. As long as everyone else is on board we'll get this show on the road." He said.

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, taking in what they just did.

"Great. Sign your initials here and we have a deal." Blaze said.

They all signed their initials, Will cursing himself in his mind. H_e _hated writing in cursive. In fact, he hated writing altogether. He wasn't that good at it, and it annoyed him. But he did it as best as he could and, in the words of Vince Neil, signed his life away.

They all got up from their chairs and shook hands. Blaze took out a bottle of expensive wine with glasses and smiled. "Anybody in the mood for a quick celebration?" He asked.

"Can't say no to liquor." Slade said.

Blaze poured everyone a glass and they all raised their glasses up. "To Thunderhead." He said, he and John then taking a sip.

Blaze's eyes went wide open as all of them guzzled everything down in a few seconds. John wasn't shocked because he'd dealt with drinkers like that before, but to Blaze, it was an eye opening experience.

"Well, we gotta get on the road. Tomorrow we have a show in Seattle and we're a few hundred miles away." Steven said.

"Alright, well, we'll keep in contact. When does the tour end?" John asked.

"In twelve days." Will answered.

"Perfect. We will call you a few days after and set everything up." He said. "Until then, we have to contact the president of Geffen and tell him we signed a new band." John said.

They shook hands and headed out, walking in the bus.

"What do you say we celebrate with some music?" Steven asked as he got into the driver's seat.

"Sounds good to me. What do you think of Motley Crue's Saints Of Los Angeles?" Mick asked.

"Perfect." Steven responded as he put the disc in.

"Now, let's head back and get our luggage."

...

_ We are, we are, the saints, we signed our life away!  
_

_ Doesn't matter what you think, we're gonna do it anyway!_

_ We are, we are, the Saints, one day you will confess!_

_ And pray, to, the, Saints, of Los Angeles!_

_...  
_

Once they checked out of the Holiday Inn, they were on the road again. Everyone sighed; being on a tour was great, but the long hours of driving made them want to kill themselves.

"I can't believe I was once _excited_ to drive." Steven said. "Now it seems more like a chore than anything else."

"We're all excited to do things that we get rather unexcited about later." Will said. "For instance, I was once excited to light fires in the backyard. But, with enough physical abuse from my father, I soon realized that playing with fire is no joke when dealing with Halt." Will said in a sarcastic voice.

"I for one feel that you are too hard on your poor insane, alcoholic father. Just because he was different doesn't mean that he deserves to be ridiculed. After all, I think we've learned from our gay community that being different is what life is about." Gilan replied sarcastically.

"The things you can learn from people with genetic problems." Slade said, having a sip of his margarita.

* * *

Later, everybody was either asleep on the bunks or on the couches. That is, everybody except Steven of course. Steven was the one who drove the bus, and he was doomed to that fate, seeing as how nobody else was insured on it.

Ironic, he thought, how the one person who was driving by himself was the guy who couldn't stand to be alone. He was destined for marriage because being alone was what his nightmares were usually about. Silence, being alone, it all killed him. His only hope was to play loud music and learn to cope with it. He had many more tours that he was going to have to drive, and this was merely the first.

It was three in the morning and he was sipping coffee as he sang along with the music to keep awake.

"It ain't easy, living like a gypsy, tell ya honey how it feels. I've been dreamin, floatin' down the stream n', losin' touch with all that's real." He sang, glad that he burned the Guns N' Roses version of Mama Kin on a CD. He loved the original Aerosmith version, but he was in the mood for the Guns N' Roses cover at that particular moment.

"Whole lotta lover, keepin' under cover, never knowin' where ya been. Oh yeah. You've been fadin', always out paradin', keepin' touch with Mama Kin." He sang along. "I need some company..."

* * *

At eight in the morning, everyone was finally waking up, much to Steven's delight.

They were barely able to open their eyes, which Steven wouldn't tolerate.

"Oh, you think you guys are tired? I've been up since yesterday at eight. It's been twenty four hours. You don't know the meaning of tired." He said. But Slade wasn't going down without a fight.

"You don't even have bags under your eyes. Just how tired could you possibly feel?" Slade asked.

"Not very, I'm just warning you not to yawn or look tired." He said.

"Exactly. You're not even by principal tired. In fact, you look wide awake. I bet you stayed up all night singing and drinking coffee." Gilan said.

"Yes I did. It's the only way to stay awake when there's no one else around." He said.

"That makes sense." Mick started. "I think I did kinda get half awake during the night. Were you singing Heaven?" Mick asked.

"Yes." Steven answered. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. I'm just saying that if I was going to stay awake I wouldn't listen to Rock Ballads." Mick stated.

"Rock ballads are fun to sing with." Steven said.

"That's okay, Gilan." Will said. "The real fun is when I video taped him dancing to Pour Some Sugar On Me." He stated, Steven's eyes opening in fear.

"What?" He asked. "Will, give me that tape now!" He demanded.

Will was now laughing as he headed to get the camera. "Don't tempt me Steven. I could make this worse!" He said as he got it.

He headed back and everyone gathered round to see the video. Steven then heard hysterical laughing, much to his despair.

"Look at his hair!" Slade said through laughter. "I never knew you could dance, Steven." He said.

"I always knew his long hair would come in handy for a few laughs!" Gilan said.

Steven sighed, his reputation was ruined. But he couldn't help not dancing to it. Pour Some Sugar On Me was a song you danced to, he reasoned. It's hard not to dance to it.

He listened on until the music ended and everyone sat down. "Are you happy now?" He asked.

"No." Slade said. "I'm delighted. I haven't had a good laugh in quite a while."

"I would like you all to know I have the control. I could drop you all off in the middle of nowhere if I wanted to." He threatened.

"Yeah, do it, and you'll see this video on Youtube." Will said.

"Who cares? I don't even know those people." He responded.

"Don't make me put this up on Facebook." Will threatened, and that shut Steven up.

"Let's be nice to Will." Mick said. "You know how we all get those uncontrollable urges to just dance while listening to Def Leppard." He said.

"Def Leppard is dancing music!" Steven defended. And then Steven got an idea. "I wonder," he started. "Does Alyss like that song, Will?" He asked.

"I don't know, why?" Will asked.

"I'll bet she does. Just imagine her dancing to it. I'll bet she's good at dancing." He said, trying his best to hide his smile.

"Steven, I have no problem going to prison." Will threatened.

"I'm imagining her dance to it now." Steven said. "Oh yeah, she can dance to it pretty well. Ooh, I liked that move." He said, the smile starting to break on his face.

"Steven, I will grab that steering wheel and run us right into that ditch!" Will threatened.

"Ooh yeah, look at her b-"

"Easy!" Slade yelled. "He really _will_ kill you." Slade warned.

"Yeah, well, bring it on. I've taken Aikedo for fourteen years." Steven said.

"Yeah well, we'll see how handy Aikedo is when I shove a guitar up your-"

"Will."

* * *

They got to Seattle and wandered around, trying to find the right building. They knew they were close, but they couldn't find the exact building they were looking for.

"Look, Steven, I'm trying to explain to you that you're GPS is lying to you." Will said. "The map clearly shows you're supposed to go right here."

"Maps aren't that handy." Steven argued.

"When was the last time you updated the stupid thing?" Will asked as the argument kept going.

"Th-that's not important. What's important is that this says to go that way."

"What's important is that you're putting our lives in the hands of a machine!"

Everyone rolled their eyes. They'd been arguing for over an hour, despite the fact they'd passed the building nine thousand times. They'd tried to tell them it was right there, but every time they tried, they would tell them to be quiet.

Slade sighed, getting tired of this. "We've passed th-"

"Shut up." They both said in unison.

Slade raised his hands in the air and gave up. It was no use. They'd keep arguing all night.

"Look, the-"

"Be quiet Mick." Steven said.

"For God's sake!" Gilan yelled. "The building is right there! We've passed it twelve bloody times!"

Steven and Will stopped in shock and looked at Gilan. They looked at where he pointed and realized they were both wrong.

"Huh, what do you know. It is right there." Steven said as Will nodded in acknowledgment. Acting like they hadn't just been arguing for the past hour.

Everyone raised their hands and had strained looks on their faces. "Are you kidding me? We've been trying to stop you two and show you for over an hour where it was and now you act like nothing's happened?" Gilan yelled.

"I've lost all hope with humanity." Slade said. "Just, you two, never talk about directions again." He said as he pointed at them.

* * *

They were all warming up on the stage. There was an hour before the show went on, but they felt it was important to actually be there on time for once in there life. They were always running behind; always arriving twenty minutes before a show. They felt it was important that they started getting to places on time before they started to get a bad reputation. There had been more than one time when they had to delay the show because they neglected to do a sound check.

"Alright, we haven't done any Motley Crue for a while, and I think it's time we give Mick here a break." Will said. "Let's just do mostly Motley Crue songs." He said.

Mick had a slight smile on his face, taking a liking the idea. "Sweet. I'll get the list of songs ready and we'll blow the crowd away." He said, immediately putting his Fender down and headed to the back to get a paper and a pen.

"Should we be worried he's too excited about this?" Slade asked.

"Probably." Will answered.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Mick came back with a piece of paper, content with the list of songs he'd made. Will was trying to decide what guitar he should use as he looked at the piece of paper. "Dr. Feelgood huh?" Will asked.

"No, Will. It's a crypto-clan. Try and decipher the code." Mick answered.

"Alright," Steven said slowly. "I'm pretty sure I know at least ninety-five percent of all of these songs. I'm not sure about Wild Side, but I'm sure I can improvise." He said, trying to imagine the drum patterns in his mind.

"I'm not sure you know all of the songs, but I know all of them so I can play lead on the ones you don't know." Mick told Will.

"Sounds good." Will replied. "What else would you guys like to play?" Will asked.

"Well, I really want to play Rush, but Slade doesn't have the voice for it." Steven said.

Will thought for a moment. "Actually, I can sing Rush. It's not one-hundred percent like Geddy Lee, but it's enough to get the job done." Will said.

"Rush huh?" Slade asked. "I was never much of a Rush fan. Besides, what am I supposed to do? Backup dancing?"

"Well," Steven said. "I'm sure Aerosmith can take the place of Rush. That way we all play bands we like." He decided. "Though I would love to see you try and dance. Stumbling all over the place like a drunk." Steven stated, smiling at the thought.

"Yeah well, we all know you're a dance extraordinaire."

* * *

They'd all decided on a list, consisting of their own songs, Aerosmith, and, as Will promised, mostly Motley Crue. They were all currently in the backstage, waiting calmly for it to be time.

"What's the plan of attack?" Slade asked.

"What if we had the crew turn off the lights?" Gilan asked.

"That would work. That way we could go out there without them knowing. And then the next thing they'd know is the lights went on and there was music." Will said.

"I think that'll work. I'll just have to tell the crew." Steven said as he headed off.

They waited for a few minutes, making sure their instruments were in tune. And it wasn't long until Steven was back in their sights.

"Get ready. When the lights go off, head up there." Steven said, and then Will played two chords when he was plugged in.

The lights then went off, and they walked up onto the stage.

Everyone walked slowly. Since it was dark, it was easy to run into something. And the last thing they wanted was to break a speaker.

They all went to their stations on the stage, and Will started to play a few power chords, and the light went on in accordance.

Everyone started playing, get more into it as time went on as they played

"Ooh yeah." Slade sang.

"When I get high I get high on speed. Top fuel funny car's a drug for me. My heart. My heart! Kickstart my heart!

Always got the cops running after me. Custom built bike doin' one-O-three. My heart. My Heart! Kickstart my heart!

Ooh, are you ready girls? Ooh, are you ready now?"

"Whoa! Yeah!" Everybody else yelled.

"Kickstart my heart give it a start!"

Whoa! Yeah!"

"Baby!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Kickstart my heart hope it never stops!"

"Whoa! Yeah! Baby! Yeah!"

Mick played the heavy power riff as he walked around the stage, acting like he owned it. Which, at that time, it was debatable whether he did or not.

"Skydive naked from an aeroplane! Or a lady with a body from outerspace. My heart. My heart! Kickstart my heart!

Say, I got trouble, trouble in my eyes. I'm just lookin' for another good time. My heart. My heart! Kickstart my heart!

"Yeah! Are you ready girls? Say, are you ready now now!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Kickstart my heart give it a start!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Baby!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Kickstart my heart hope it never stops!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Baby!"

Everything got quieter, and everything was played more softly.

"Ooh, who." Slade sang softly. "When we started this band, all we needed, needed was a laugh.

Years gone by I say we've kicked some ass.

When I'm enraged, or hittin' the stage, adrenaline runnin' through my veins. And I'd say, we are still kickin' ass.

"Say ooh, ahh, kickstart my heart hope it never stops. And to think we did all of this to ro-o-o-ck!" Slade sang, everything getting faster and more exciting.

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Kickstart my heart give it a start!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"B-b-b-b-baby!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Kickstart my heart hope it never stops!"

"Whoa! Yeah! Baby!"

Mick then started the solo. Will said Mick should do it because it was a fast solo and Will didn't like them very much. Besides that, he'd given the night to Mick's favorite band, so he figured he should be the one to play the first solo.

Mick just stood in place, rocking back and forth. He eventually bended down and brought it to his knees, the crowd loving every bit of it.

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Kickstart my heart hope it never stops!"

"Whoa! Yeah!

"Baby!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Kickstart my heart give it a start!"

"Whoa! Yeah!"

"Okay boys, let's rock the house!" Slade sang at the top of his lungs.

Everyone then played the heavy riff, eventually going to what they called "freestyle mode", in which all of them just played a bunch of notes together and made it sound good.

As the last chords rang out, the crowd began to cheer, making everyone think the same thing: _I'll never quit._

* * *

The crowd roared_, _they had played five songs since Kickstart My Heart, and they just finished Walk This Way_. _And they were now headed into Motley Crue's Same Ol' Situation.

Steven tapped his drum sticks, going to four, and suddenly everyone started playing. One of the unique things about Same Ol' Situation was there was no gradual intro. It was just simply people started playing at the same time.

"She's got an alligator bag top hat to match. Dressed in black on black. She's got a Philipino girlie she claims is her friend. I tell you boys, you just gotta laugh.

Now I used to call her Cindy she changed her name to Sin. I guess that's the name of her game.

Yeah, I really used to love her but then she discovered, it's got to be a sexual thing.

Now, all around the world, girls will be girls."

"It's the same ol', same ol' situation. It's the same ol', same ol' ball and chain.

I say no, no, no. No, no, no."

"Come on, now check this out." Slade said.

"Introduced me to her lover in a cellophane dress. Then they bid me a sweet fairwell.

Last time I saw them they were kissing so softly to the sound of wedding bells.

Well around the world, girls will be girls."

"It's the same ol', same ol' situation. It's the same ol', same ol' ball and chain.

Don't you know girl, it's the same ol', same ol' situation.

Everyday it's the same ol', same ol' ball and chain.

I say no, no, no. No, no, no.

Alright! .. Come on now!"

Will and Mick then did a creative co-solo, which turned out to be an accident. Will didn't realize that Mick wanted to play the solo, and Mick didn't realize that Will _knew _the solo, so both of them looked at each other with confusion, and then they just shrugged their shoulders and started playing together.

Everyone except for Steven then stopped playing, letting Slade play the crowd.

"It's the same ol', same ol' situation. It's the same ol', same ol' ball and chain. Come on now!" Slade yelled, trying to get the crowd to sing along.

"Girl, it's the same ol', same ol' situation."

It's the same ol', same ol' ball and chain.

You know it's just got to say:"

"All around the world. Girls will be girls!"

"Yeah!..."

"It's the same ol', same ol' situation! It's the same ol', same ol' ball and chain!

I tell you girl, it's the same ol', same ol' situation! It's the same ol', same ol' ball and chain!"

"Yeah, yeah. Uh huh. Yeah yeah! Oh yeah! No no! Yeahhh, yeahhhh... Oh whoa ooh..."

* * *

Everybody had sweat on them. It had been an intense show, and it was about to come to a close. They were about to try and pull something off that they'd never tried before, and they were very nervous. But they figured it was worth a shot.

Will played a heavy riff, Steven and Mick accompanying him. The crowd cheered, recognizing it immediately.

Eventually, Mick and Will made cool sounds with their guitars, making it sound like someone was talking.

"Yeah, yeah." Slade sang.

"Rat-tailed Jimmy is a second hand hood, deals out in Hollywood. Got a '65 Chevy, primered flames, traded for some powdered goods

Jigsaw Jimmy he's the one in the game, but I hear he's doin' o.k. Got a cozy little job selling the Mexican mob, packages the candycaine."

"He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood! He's the one that makes ya feel all right! He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood!"

"Cops on the corner always ignore, somebody's getting paid. Jimmy's got it wired, law's for hire, got it made in the shade. Got a little hideaway, does business all day gut at night he'll always be found! Sellin' sugar to the sweet, people on the street. Call this Jimmy's town."

"He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood! He's the one that makes ya feel all right. He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood!"

"He's gonna be your Frankenstein."

"I've got one thing you'll understand."

_"Dr. Feelgood!" _The rest of the band sang._  
_

"He's not what you'd call a glamorous man."

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"Got one thing that's easily understood."

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood! Oh yeah."

Mick started a mini-solo, rocking back and forth as he did so. For a moment he was tempted to jump into the crowd, but remembered that a number of casualties in the name of Rock could occur, so he decided against it.

"He'll tell you he's the king Of these barrio streets, moving up the shangri-la! Came by his wealth as a matter of luck, says he never broke no law.

Two time loser running out of juice, time to move out quick! Heard a rumor going round, Jimmy's going down, this time it's gonna stick."

"He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood! He's the one that makes ya feel all right! He's the one they call Dr. Feelgood!

"He's gonna be your Frankenstein."

"Let him soothe your soul, just take his hand."

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"Some people call him an evil man."

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"Let him introduce himself real good."

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"He's the only one they call Feelgood! Oh yeah."

Will started the solo, getting closer to the crowd as he blew their minds. He was somewhat of a prodigy. He was only nineteen, and had only been playing for five years. He wasn't perfect; he messed up the more complicated songs, and messed up fast solos from time to time. But he was nothing short of amazing, and no one could take away his confidence when it came to playing.

"I've got one thing you'll understand." Slade started again when the solo ended.

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"He's not what you'd call an average man."

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"Got one thing that's easily understood."

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"He's the one they call Dr. Feel good. Oh yeah." Slade sang, the song then coming to a close.

"Dr. Feelgood." Slade sang.

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"Dr. Feelgood!"

_"Dr. Feelgood!"_

"Dr. Feelgood!"

"_Dr. Feelgood!_" The rest of the band sang, the song ending right when they finished the lyric.

Everyone took a deep breath. They were sweaty, tired, and they welcomed the normal cold rainy Seattle weather that was outside.

"Thank you and goodnight Seattle!" Slade yelled as they all got together side by side, taking a bow as the crowd cheered.

They headed off the stage with their instruments as the crowd applauded and screamed. They wanted their money's worth, and they _got _it.

"Great show you guys." One of the crew said.

But none of them said anything. They just smiled, waved, and nodded their head.

* * *

As they were all packing their equipment back into the tour bus a group of people came up to get autographs. The band of course accepted and started signing papers and guitars. Eventually, a girl walked up to Will, acting like she was the hottest thing to have hit the earth.

"Hey there." She said, wrapping her hands around his neck. If Alyss were here, she would've been shot before she could have completed the action.

"Hello." Will smiled back.

"My name's Cassandra. But you can call my Cassie." She said.

"Hello Cassie. Do you have a piece of paper or would you like me to run to the bus and get one real quick?" He asked politely.

"No. I just wanted to get your _acquaintance._" She replied sleazily.

"Oh. Well, my name is Will. It's nice to have your acquaintance Cassie." He said, offering his hand.

She laughed a few times, which made Slade raise his eyebrow as he wrote his autograph on a guitar. "You're cute." She said. "How about we go to my place?"

Will was quiet for a moment, his welcoming smile never leaving his face. "Well, we have to go to a show tomorrow in California, and we've been up for a while, so we figured we'd just find a quiet place and sleep in the tour bus tonight." Will said, but in his head, that sentence went a lot differently.

Cassie got closer and stroked his cheek. "Don't be shy, I won't bite. Much." She said sleazily, officially creeping Will out.

He crossed his arms, shuddering in his mind at the thought, but somehow retained his smile, though it came out a bit awkward. "Well, I have a girlfriend, and this wouldn't go well in the end." He said, trying to put her down easily, but sending the message. But she simply walked closer.

"I promise she'd never find out." She said, breathing on his neck as she stroked his hair.

Will gently pushed her away, not even considering her answer. "Well, I'm not really interested. I'd love to give you an autograph instead though." He offered, but her face changed dramatically.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked in a raised voice.

"Can't say that I do." Will answered.

"Do you know what my father does for a living?" She asked, the tone in her voice getting angrier and angrier

"Honestly, no." Will answered.

"He's a very important business man. He owns half of this town." She said.

"Really? Well that changes everything! Please, find it in your heart to take him back!" Slade said sarcastically,, not laughing for the first time since this conversation started.

"Fine. I'll go see if there's any straight men in this town." She said, and Will simply shook his head, not bothered by the words. It should only bother me if it's true, he thought.

"Hey don't flatter yourself. Straight guys can turn you down too ya know." Some guy in the group of people said. He'd only seen the last part of it, but he'd gotten the just of what happened.

Cassie merely looked back for a second as she stormed off. Making the band laugh quietly.

"You're making friends quick around here." Mick said as he signed an outdated Appetite For Destruction shirt. He told the person that it would be worth a lot of money one day, and he should have it cased if a rainy day should arrive.

"Yeah. She was a little firecracker though." Steven said as he signed one of his own drumsticks and handed it to a twelve year old kid. "Never lose sight of your dreams." He told him. "One day you can be just like me. Just don't get discouraged."

After everyone was gone they got in the bus, amazed that anyone would ever want their autograph.

* * *

They were riding down the highway again. Celebrating the successful show. But Will noticed that Steven was drained of energy, and decided he needed to go to bed.

"Steven, you're very tired. Let me drive the bus." Will said.

Steven thought about it for a moment, but dismissed the offer. "I can't. You're not insured on this bus. And I don't know if you're a safe driver." He said.

"I drove from Indiana to Los Angeles without a problem. Just let me drive and take a rest." Will said.

Steven wanted nothing more than to let Will drive, but he still wasn't sure. "If you crashed the bus, my dad would be very angry."

"Than pray that we all get killed on impact. Get out of the chair, and let me drive." Will said, not taking no for an answer.

Steven sighed, knowing it was no use. "Fine. But if we both live through the crash, stab me with something sharp from the bus." Steven said.

"Not a problem." Will said as Steven pulled over.

"Have you ever driven a bus before?" Steven asked.

"No. But it can't be more difficult than driving and backing a semi." Will said.

"Okay. Just be easy with it, and don't go faster than sixty five." Steven said, Will nodding.

"Fine. Go to bed." Will replied as Steven got out of the chair.

Will got sat down and was surprised at the softness of the chair. He accidentally pushed a button and started to get closer to the steering wheel.

"Whoops." He said as he made it go back.

Will got back on the road and did as Steven said, only going sixty five.

Everyone except Will and Slade were sleeping, and they were just listening to music until Slade needed to ask Will a question.

"By the way, I meant to tell you something." Slade said to Will. "I wrote a song." He said.

Will raised his eyebrows. "Really? Is it about the interpretive dancer? After all, I think we were all inspired after Steven's dance." He said, and then got an idea. "You know, a song called The Ballad Of The Interpretive Dancer doesn't sound too bad actually."

Slade hit his palm on his forehead and shook his head, choosing to ignore what was just said. "Anyway, it's a song about a girl I used to know, and I wanted to bring it up with you." Slade explained.

"A girl?" Will asked.

"She's just a girl I used to date for, let's say, three years." Slade replied. "And anyway, I made a song about her and I wanted your opinion of it."

"What's the song about, your first time with her?" Will asked, assuming it was going to be the regular Slade-like song.

Slade just kept quiet and handed the piece of paper to Will.

Will read it for a moment, and realized he was being a jerk before as he realized the lyrics were very serious.

"I... Uh..." Will said, not sure what to say.

"Not that good huh?" Slade asked.

"No. The lyrics are very good. I'm just a little surprised by the... actual point of the song." Will said.

"I didn't say it was a party song." Slade said.

Will was just quiet for a moment. It was actually a very intelligent song. And he was impressed by the writing and the fact that there was no typos. He found out that Slade was actually quite the talented writer.

"Did I ever tell you about my childhood?" Slade asked eventually, sick of the silence.

Will raised his right eyebrow for a moment. "Of course. You explained it to Steven's parents." Will answered. "Wow, by the way." He added.

"No, no. I mean the _actual _story." Slade said.

"So your father wasn't an alcoholic that claimed to have invented the question mark?" Will asked, a little disappointed.

"No, unfortunately, he wasn't. And technically, he _isn't_." Slade said, indicating his Father was still alive.

"Oh. So, what is your actual story then?" Will asked.

"Well, believe it or not, I grew up in a deeply religious Catholic family." Slade said, not too surprisingly, shocking Will.

"Really?" He asked, somewhat unbelieving.

"Oh yeah." Slade answered. "We said the Rosary everyday, we went to daily Mass, we went to confession every week, we visited monasteries all the time, we even had a good friend who was a Priest. It was like living in the Vatican. Which, speaking of, I've seen in person." He added. "It was great. For a long time I was for sure I was going to be a Priest. I visited the seminary all the time. I loved it." Slade explained.

"What happened?" Will asked. "I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, but you're not exactly Priest-like these days." Will said. "In fact, just the other day you were singing Hot For Teacher in the shower."

"Well," Slade started. "I met a girl when I was seventeen."

"The girl in this song?" Will asked.

"Yes." He answered. "She was fun to be around. We laughed all the time, we did crazy things in public, I found we were spending more and more time with each other. Within six months I was doing things with her I wouldn't even have thought of a year before, so my faith was already slipping. Then, soon after, my brother was hit by a car and died. And I thought, 'Why would a good God let my brother die?', so I dropped the whole Religious thing and went on with life. I discovered Rock, discovered I could sing, and it all took off after that."

Will thought for a moment. "You know, sometimes things just happen. It's not like God made that guy hit your brother. Things happen." He said in reply.

"I just felt that if God existed it wouldn't have happened." Slade explained. "And anyway, concerning the girl, whose name was Kate, we dated for about three years, and then I cheated on her, and then she broke up with me. That's it." He said.

"Well that was a stupid move." Will said bluntly.

"Speaking of stupid things, you should probably try to avoid that car that's swerving in our lane." Slade said, Will then swerving to the right and then honking at the guy.

"Good eye." Will said. "So when was the last time you saw this girl?" Will asked.

Slade thought for a moment. "About six months ago. She was at a coffee shop with some guy. I wanted to deck him." Slade said. "I could tell she wasn't having a good time though. She used her fake voice. Although it is very sneaky because it sounds almost identical to her actual voice." Slade reminisced.

"So what does this girl look like?" Will asked, trying to figure out how much Slade still likes her.

"She's beautiful. She has long dark brown hair, almost black. She's average height, and she has these unforgettable freckles. My nickname for her was Freckles, in fact. I remember she had these beautiful hazel eyes. I could have stared at them all day." Slade said, not realizing he was talking about her the way Will talks about Alyss, which Slade usually made fun of him for. But Will wasn't going to use it against him yet. He wanted to be nice and understanding first.

"I see." Will said. "Why don't you talk to her? You obviously miss her." Will proposed.

"Well, the last time I talked to her she looked really hurt, and I don't want to resurrect bad memories for either of us." Slade said.

"Who cares? You yourself said that she wasn't happy. What if she's miserable and wants you to take her back? You've got nothing to lose."

"Like I said, she could still hate me. And if she does, she'll remember what I did to her and she'll be miserable again."

"All I'm hearing is 'What if'. Well, _what if _she wants you back? Tell me, how often do you think about her?" Will asked.

Slade sighed. "Everyday."

"Well, you already think about her everyday. So you might as well go for it." Will reasoned.

"You think I should go for it?" Slade asked, finally starting to think about doing it.

"Absolutely. Go for it. I can almost assure you that you'll be surprised with the result." Will said.

"What do you mean?" Slade asked.

"I know women. I know how they think. Trust me, this girl still likes you. Go in and sweep her off her feet." Will said.

"Alright. It's settled then. When we get back, I'm going in and fixing things."

* * *

Will woke up at six in the morning that day and saw that Slade was driving. They had taken turns through the night, and Will saw that Slade was tired. "Alright, shift's over." Will stated.

Slade glanced towards Will and started to pull over. "You know, I didn't realize just how many idiots there were on the road until this night." He said. "I mean, from people running you off the road to people keeping their brights on when their passing you. Not to mention those idiots that are driving eighty in rainy weather. And don't even get me started on those damned blue lights that blind everything in sight." He ranted, and Will just raised his eyebrow.

"Had an eventful night have we?" He asked.

Slade shook his head. "You should have seen the guy with his feet out the window. Never before had I seen actual Hobbit feet. And that guy made my Hobbit feet dreams come true." Slade ranted, and Will just shook his head.

"So you're telling me driving at night can give you an eighty year old man's cynical view of the world?" Will asked.

"Precisely." Slade said as he got out of the chair.

"Well, isn't that exciting to know?" Will asked.

"I don't know how Steven does it. He somehow retains his naive youthful outlook on the world even though the world sucks." Slade said.

"What's your next song going to be? 'We're In Already In Hell'?" Will asked.

"Don't think it's not possible." Slade answered.

* * *

**Yes, yes, I do realize this chapter was long overdue. I just hope it delivered. Some people might be upset by the minor angst, but hey, when you get inspiration from listening to Alice Cooper, it doesn't matter what it is, you have to write it. I'm like the writing's of the early church father's. Their writings may have been inspired by God, but mine were inspired by Alice Cooper, so it's almost the same.**

**So, I went on a date with an Asian girl last week. She was very Asian. She was a panda. It was very uncomfortable. I opted to eat Chinese since that was her homeland, but she kept voting for bamboo, so that's the story of how I chipped my tooth.  
**

**Anyway, aside from stealing some of Jim Gaffigan's material, I have some news. Now, I know I have listened to some sleazy music in the past, and I've cursed from time to time, but I think I want to be either a Priest or a Friar. Or both. So that's just the latest news in Miles-land.**

**Anyway, if you don't want to depress me, give a review. I won't be updating until I get fifty or more reviews, but that doesn't mean I will be updating right then. It's probably going to be at least a month until I update because I'm getting ready to work on another one of my stories, The Longest Day, so that's exciting for the fans of that story.**

**But remember, you need to review. Every time you review, a panda gets to live. So for the love of pandas, review!  
**


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